£_ 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. I 



&W 3 



Iff. 



5V3705 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 



MEMOIR 



or THE 



REV. E. HENDERSON, D.D., Ph.D. 



INCLUDING 



HIS LABOURS IN DENMARK, ICELAND, RUSSIA, 

ETC., ETC. 



BY 



THULIA sf H 

4 t 



IN ITINERIBOS S^PE. 



LONDON: 
KNIGHT AND SON, CLERKENWELL CLOSE. 

HAMILTON, ADAMS & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW- 



<v 



<* 






y 



PREFACE, 



It is not every one whose biography can suitably be 
penned by a member of his own family. There are many 
cases in which the hand of affection would be ready to 
twine its garland around a brow whereon no wreath of 
public applause has ever rested, or been likely to rest; 
many cases, in which the pencil of the home-artist would 
be detected in giving a portraiture, more fascinating as a 
picture, than truthful as a likeness. Instances there may 
also be, on the contrary, in which the triumphal crown 
is openly offered amid shouts of acclaim that can wake 
but faint and feeble echoes from beside the domestic 
hearth; and at times, perchance, the incense of public 
adulation may all unconsciously be wafting its odorous 
vapours around dying hopes and broken hearts. Just 
as private excellence may exist apart from public appre- 
ciation, so on the other hand public esteem is not in- 
variably a criterion by which to judge of a man's private 
life. But there was no such contrariety in him who 
forms the subject of the present volume. What he was 
abroad, that he was at home ; and as he appeared by his 
fireside, such was he found by all who knew him. 
Neither his learning nor his humility, neither his serious- 
ness nor his serenity, neither his firmness nor his candour, 



IV PREFACE. 

was a thing reserved for stated periods or set occasions. 
He was the same at all times, in all places, and under 
all circumstances. Those who knew and loved him best, 
had the satisfaction of seeing him understood and beloved 
by others. Those who met with him in the walks of 
active life, could utter no word in his praise which evoked 
not a responsive chord within the heart of those that 
dwelt beneath his roof. 

On such considerations, I have thought it right to 
accede to the suggestion of several friends, and to prepare 
the following pages, — the memorial, not of a name, but 
of a life, the life of one whose name is already inscribed 
in the archives of sacred and of secular literature. For a 
time I shrank from the responsibility of the task, and felt 
a desire that it might be entrusted to a compiler, who 
could more adequately do justice to the theme. On calling 
to mind, however, the comparative ease with which a 
relative could hope to glean the needful facts, and on 
ascertaining what would best meet my mother's wishes, 
I waived my scruples, and determined on attempting 
what I could not but esteem a labour of love. 

There have been but few private sources, whence to 
gather the ensuing reminiscences. My father does not 
seem at any time to have kept a continuous Journal ; or, 
if he did, it must have shared the fate of many other 
papers and letters which were destroyed in St. Peters- 
burgh by the inundation of 1824. The brief fragments, 
which have come to light, indicate that other and fuller 
records may once have existed ; while yet there seems 
reason to believe that diurnal entries of his doings and 
feelings were with him occasional rather than habitual 
acts, prompted only by some special motive, and resorted 
to no longer than such motive impelled. When separated 



PREFACE. 



from his friend and fellow -labourer, he appears at times 
to have kept notes for Dr. Paterson's inspection. When 
left in solitude, he compensated to himself for the want of 
Christian fellowship by pouring out his heart on paper. 
But, generally speaking, he was too much employed in 
working to spend his time in writing down the labours 
in which he had engaged, or in metaphysically analyzing 
the causes, and scrupulously registering the variations, 
of those ebbs and flows of feeling that may have attended 
the prosecution of his toil. 

Of the anecdotes he was wont to relate, a richer store 
might doubtless have been accumulated, had we listened 
to the advice repeatedly given us by his friends, and had 
we carefully taken down the details from time to time. 
But we recoiled from the idea of pursuing such a course. 
We were told, indeed, that we owed this to the Christian 
world, but we felt that we had a prior and paramount 
duty to discharge toward himself. We were sufficiently 
alive to the espionage practised under despotic govern- 
ments abroad, to have contracted a peculiar distaste for 
all that could seem like an invasion of the sanctities of 
home. It is one thing for memory lovingly to retrace the 
past, as it fondly gathers up the recollections of the 
departed, and quite another thing for the eagle-eye of 
vigilance to be on the perpetual look-out for every casual 
incident or oif-hand phrase that may serve to "point a 
moral or adorn a tale " of individual life. 

A third channel of information was in a great measure 
closed to us by the fact of my father's having survived 
the majority of those who were the associates of his early 
youth. The biographies of his departed fellow-students 
have been consulted, and some of the contemporaneous 
serials examined, in order to supply deficiencies, and 



VI PREFACE. 

maintain the continuity of the narrative. Thanks are 
hereby tendered to relatives and friends, who have cordially 
given all the information in their power. An especial 
acknowledgment is due to the Rev. Doctors Steinkopff 
and Ferguson, and the Rev. Messrs. Allon and Charlton, 
for the valuable communications which they have fur- 
nished, and which will be found greatly to have enriched 
the volume ; — to my cousin, Dr. Ebenezer Henderson, of 
St. Helen's, for the interest and the diligence he has 
evinced in corresponding with Scotland, as well as the 
care with which he has sifted all particulars communicated 
in reply, so as to determine what was doubtful and what 
reliable; — to Mrs. Baxter of Dundee, for valuable letters 
addressed to her late father, the Rev. Dr. Paterson ; — and, 
finally, to various friends who have lent helpful books, or 
have allowed free access to libraries, in which could be 
consulted those bygone Scottish periodicals that are rarely 
to be met with in the South. 

The best portrait of my father was taken by the late 
Mr. Room, for the Evangelical Magazine. From the 
painting, which was ably executed by that artist, Roger 
Fenton, Esq. kindly supplied a photograph ; and from 
the latter, the likeness in the present volume has been 
prepared. 



MORTLAKE, ' 

March, 1859. 



CONTENTS. 



I.— Early Life. 1784—1805. 

PAGE 

Birth-place— Family — Name— Baptism — Home-training— School - educa- 
tion — Business-pursuits — Conversion — Volunteering — College Life — Fel- 
low-students— Tutors— Doctrinal Views— Visit to the Orkneys— First 
Sermon at Dunfermline — Appointment to Missionary-work — Ordination 
— Departure ............ 1 

II.— First Journey. 1805—1810. 

Destination to India — Voyage to Copenhagen — Detention in Denmark — 
Lamentable state of the country — Tract-efforts — Earliest friends — Preach- 
ing-stations — Mission to India relinquished — Occupations at Elsineur — 
Visit to Helsingburgh— Tour in Fiinen— Fiinen Evangelical Society — 
Proposal for Icelandic Bibles — Icelandic Tracts printed — Second winter at 
Elsineur — Landing of the British army — Betreat to Gottenburgh — Danish 
prisoners of war— Tour in Lapland — Winter in Grottenburgh — Unsettled 
plans — Second winter in Gottenburgh — Visit to Scotland . . . .39 

III.— Second Journey. 1810—1817. 

Pastoral labours at Gottenburgh — Translation of Magnus Boos on Daniel — 
Comet of 1811 — Formation of Church at Gottenburgh — Death of Adolph 
Holmlin — An interview at Helsingburgh — Beminiscences by the Bev. 
Dr. Steinkopff— Visit to Lund — Beturn to Copenhagen — Treatise on Hans 
Mikkelsen's New Testament — Visit to Gottenburgh — Swedish Post-boy — 
Formation of the Danish Bible Society — Voyage to Iceland — Tour of the 
Eastern districts— Winter in Beykiavik — Tour of the Western coast- 
Formation of the Icelandic Bible Society — Tour of the Central districts — 
Beturn to Copenhagen — Formation of a Bible Society at Lund — Tour of the 
Danish provinces — Odense — Jutland — Schleswig — Emkendorf — Eutin — 
Hamburgh— Batzeburgh — Tour in Pomerania — Visit to Berlin— Summons 
to St. Petersburgh— Literary honours — Labours in the Bussian metropolis 
— Proposal made by Mr. Steven — English service at the Sarepta Chapel 
—Beturn to Britain 81 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

IV. — Third Journey. 1818 — 1825. 

PAGE 

Visit to Bath— Work in Edinburgh— Publication of "Travels in Iceland" 
— Marriage — Altona — Hanover — Schleswig — Winter in Copenhagen — 
Formation of "Swedish Naval Bible Society" at Carlscrona— Accident — 
Eeturn to St. Petersburgh— Tour in the South— Moscow — Odessa— The 
Crimea — Astrachan — Tiflis — Resignation as agent of the British and 
Foreign Bible Society — Appointment in connexion with the Bussian Bible 
Society — Preaching to the Sailors atCronstadt — Opposition — Snares laid — 
Espionage — Threatened Search of Papers — Dismissal of Prince Galitzin — 
Exile of Pastor Gossner — Inundation of 1824 — Restriction of Bible-efforts 
— Return to England — News of the Emperor's death — Suspension of the 
Russian Bible Society — Extracts from Correspondence with Dr. Paterson . 223 

V.— Tutorship at Hoxton. 1826—1830. 

Waiting-time — Death of Dr. Bogue — Seminary at Gosport — Invitation to 
Hoxton — Publication of "Biblical Researches" — Proposed work on "Bib- 
lical Translation" — Opening of Hoxton College — A parallel— Course of 
Mission Lectures— Reminiscences by the Rev. Dr. Ferguson — Family- 
prayer— Missionary visitors — Preaching engagements— Oriental Transla- 
tion — Contributions to the Congregational Magazine — Invitation to 
Highbury 303 

VI. — Tutorship at Highbury. 1830—1850. 

Domestic Life — Dissertation on 1 Tim. iii. 16 — Illness — College-labours — 
Reminiscences by the Rev. J. M. Charlton — Buck's Theological Dictionary 
— Stuart's Commentaries — Views of Romans vii. — The Koran — Syriac 
Lexicons — "Pastoral Vigilance" — Jewry Street Chapel — Lectures on 
" Inspiration" — Change of Residence — Love of the Young — New Colleagues 
— D. D. diploma — "Baptism and the Bible Society" — Commentary on 
Isaiah — Summer-tours — Visit to Denmark — The Vaudois — Commentary 
on the Minor Prophets — Missionary and Tract Societies — Congregational 
Board — Chapel Building Fund — Society for the Jews .... 350 

VII. — Closing Years. 1850—1858. 

New College — Commentary on Jeremiah — Visit to Italy — Editorship of 
Barnes's Works — Removal to Mortlake — Pastoral duties — Work for the 
Bible Society — Last visit to Scotland — Relinquishment of the Pastorate — 
Dr. Good on the Psalms — Commentary on Ezekiel — Growing weakness — 
Last illness — Death — Extracts from a Funeral-sermon by the Rev. H. Allon 
— Testimonies of esteem 430 



CHAPTER I. 

Early Life. (1784—1805.) 

" Cor nostrum inquietum est, donee requiescat in Te." 

Among the towns that derive lustre from their repeated 
mention hy the British annalists, there is one which claims 
remembrance as the favourite abode of Malcolm Canmore, 
and of his Hungarian bride, the sister of young Edgar 
Atheling. It was on her way from Queensferry, that the 
amiable and devout Margaret, with her mother and sister, 
rescued from the perils of the deep, and made welcome to 
the court of Scotland, first caught sight of the pleasant 
ravine in which stood Malcolm's Tower. It is from the 
south-east, and from the same highroad, that the traveller, 
who takes his stand at the " Spittal Cross-head," may 
still obtain towards eventide his most pleasing view of 
Dunfermline's ancient burgh, as it stretches along the 
slope of a continuous but undulating declivity. Amidst 
the mass of irregular buildings which form its outline, 
stands forth with imposing prominence the Abbey, — in 
part old, and in part new, — the boast of the " Civitas 
Fermiloduni" as the burying-place of monarchs, and queen- 
consorts, and royal princes not a few, though specially 



£ EARLY LIFE. 

celebrated as enshrining the grave of King Robert the 
Bruce, whose name, lettered in hewn stone, adorns with 
more of historic interest than of artistic beauty the balus- 
trade of the large square tower erected to his memory. 
The antiquary will also take delight in surveying the 
ruined wall of a Palace, in which resided King James's 
consort, Anne of Denmark, "Ladye of Dunfermlyne," and 
which became the birth-place of King Charles I. and his 
sister, Elizabeth of Bohemia. 

The city, however, is not one which founds its claims to 
notice on the merely shadowy remembrances of a departed 
greatness. Its thriving trade in linen received a new im- 
pulse on the introduction of damask-weaving, and its 
annual manufacture now rates at £450,000.* " The 
people," says Chambers, in his Picture of Scotland, "display 
that activity of intellect usually found in manufacturing 
communities, and are noted amongst the surrounding popu- 
lation for their advanced views in political and religious 
questions." The country around is fertile, and luxuriant 
crops tell of the vigour with which farming-operations are 
carried on. This is the case especially in the southern 
part of the district. Northwards the soil is not so favour- 
able, though even there much of the wild muirland has 
been reclaimed by persevering toil, and made available for 
the growth of no despicable harvests. 

About four and a half miles N. W. from the city, in the 
Dunfermline parish quoad civilia, but in the parish of 
Saline quoad sacra, stood two cot-houses with heather- 
roofs, which, from the generic name for the little brooklet 



* Encyclopaedia Britannica, Eighth Edit., art. " Dunfermline." — An in- 
teresting account of the looms and their produce is given in Chalmers's 
History of Dunfermline (first Edition), pp. 353—382. 



DUNFERMLINE. 3 

that ran past, were called "The Linn." It was here that 
toward the close of the last century there lived an agri- 
cultural labourer, George Henderson by name. In 1766 
he had married one Jean Buchannan, three years his 
junior; and it was while they were residing at The Linn, 
in the year 1784, that their youngest son was born. The 
family-register, as preserved in the father's handwriting, 
contains seven names, — John, William, Margaret, George, 
Elspit, George (the second), and Ebenezer. 

The last-named, the new comer, was not to be welcomed 
by the entire group. John and Margaret were the sole 
survivors of the six. The hand of death had twice in- 
vaded the cottage-home ; and each time it had borne away 
more than a single treasure. The year 1777 had seen 
William, and the elder George, consigned to the grave 
within a month's brief space ; and when the summer 
of 1783 had but just overpassed the sixth anniversary of 
this long-remembered grief, the storm-cloud burst with 
renewed and redoubled force, — Elspit, George the younger, 
and their aunt who was resident beneath her brother's 
roof, being carried in succession to the tomb; and that, 
within a ten days' interval. 

The second blow was yet more desolating than the first 
had been. The lambs of the flock were all gone. The 
toys had to be laid aside, for none were left save such as had 
long outgrown their use. No infant-form lay in the now 
empty cradle. No lisping tongue beguiled the hours with 
its prattle. The hearts of the parents, ready to sink within 
them for heaviness, were sustained only by those rich con- 
solations which the word of God's grace holds out to His 
mourning people. It was after this season of calamity 
that on November 17th of the following year, the subject 
of this narrative was born. A ray of hope shot across the 



4 EARLY LIFE. 

gloom. "Jean, woman," said the father, " ye see God has 
not forgot us : He has helped us hitherto, and He will 
support us, and be our strength in a' times comin' ; sae 
we'll jist ca' the child, Ehenezer." 

Such is the family-history connected with the giving of 
the name. Many have been under the impression that the 
appellation was bestowed in honour of the late Rev. 
Ebenezer Brown, the highly esteemed minister of the 
Secession Church in the neighbouring parish of Inverkeith- 
ing. The latter, it is true, often spoke of Dr. Henderson 
as his " namesake," but he may not have meant to use that 
term so literally as to imply that he regarded, or thought 
he had reason to regard him as a namesora ; nor in writing 
to him did he make any allusion of the kind. 

The import of the Scriptural appellative was one which 
was not forgotten by the bearer. If he could not boast of 
its euphony, he nevertheless, like the celebrated Ebenezer 
Erskine, rejoiced in its significance. For the device on a 
seal, which he frequently used during the earlier years of 
his residence abroad, he adopted a memorial -pillar, sur- 
rounded by the Hebrew inscription, taken from the original 
of 1 Sam. vii. 12. To the sentiment of the text he made 
frequent reference : — 

" Here I would erect a fresh monument to the praise of Divine 
goodness" — so he writes on his return from Iceland, " and inscribe 
upon it my usual motto, ' Hitherto hath the Lord helped me.' "* 

There was an incident in his life, on which he often 
dwelt, as having brought what the Germans would call his 
name-lesson peculiarly home to his heart. It was at the 
time when he had completed his first and second series of 

* Owen's Hist, of the British and Foreign Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 403. 



DUNFERMLINE. 5 

wanderings in Northern Europe, and had returned to 
take another passing glimpse of his father-land. At that 
date, no public stage-coach had begun to drive either to or 
through Dunfermline. Alighting, therefore, at the nearest 
point, he proceeded to walk along the paths, and across the 
fields, which he had been wont to traverse in bygone years. 
His thoughts were busy with the past, the present, and the 
future. It had been his to cross ocean and sea ; to visit 
not a few of nature's sublimest wonders ; and to hold 
intercourse with the great and the good in many a distant 
land. Yet now, brought home once more in safety, his eye 
rested again on familiar scenes, and his ear was charmed 
with the familiar echoes of Scottish accent and of Scottish 
song. He seated himself on a stile, as he listened to the 
carolling of the shepherd-boy, whose notes had arrested his 
attention. He caught the singer's words. " True, true!'' 
he thought within himself, " ' the days are a' awa' ! the 
days that I hae seen!' and those with whom I spent my 
childhood and my youth, where are they? these glens 
remain, but those with whom here I roamed, where, oh ! 
where are they ?" The remembrance that both parents had 
passed away from earth since last he had visited his home, 
— the recollection of associates and friends, scattered or 
deceased ; — the sense of isolation, — the consciousness of 
being indeed a stranger and a pilgrim, truly (though for 
his Master's sake, willingly) without a home; — the un- 
certainties of the future, as to where his lot might be cast, 
or who might be the sharers of his duty and his destiny, — 
all these things pressed upon him with an overwhelming 
force. But after an interval of absorbment in such medi- 
tations, he was again roused to the cognizance of external 
impressions. The tuneful voice was not yet silenced, but 
the melody had been changed : — 



b EARLY LIFE. 

"Our hearts unto despondency we never will submit, 
For we've aye been provided for, and sae will we yet ! 
And sae will we yet, 
And sae will we yet, 
For we've aye been provided for, and sae will we yet !" 

The remainder of the song was probably unheard by the 
traveller; certainly, it was unremembered. But these 
words had proved a timely cordial. He had heard enough 
to revive his drooping spirits, enough to suggest trustful, 
hopeful thoughts. He was one who could use this whole- 
some truth without abusing it and so converting it into a 
deadly poison. He went on his way with a lightened heart, 
resolving that he would never again be unmindful of his 
baptismal name. He " thanked God, and took courage." 
Nay, throughout the entire course of his after-life, he was 
ready, in every time of sorrow expected, or of suffering 
experienced, to look upward for help, and to cheer the hopes 
of others by saying, " We've aye been provided for, and 
sae will we yet." 

The rite of baptism was performed, Nov. 21st, by the 
Rev. James Husband,* minister of the Queen Anne Street 
Church. The actual building has since been taken down ; 
but near the same site, has been erected a new one, which 
is conspicuous even from a distance by reason of its lofty 
position and its old-fashioned gable roof. A fitting emblem 
it is of the important part which its founders designed it to 
occupy. Reared after the Secession had gained a firm 
footing, it stands proudly forth to view, as if to say, Think 
what you will of my beauty, none can gainsay my stability ; 

* Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Husband continued to labour at Dunfermline till 
May 17, 1821, when he died at the age of seventy, after a ministry of forty- 
six years. The present occupant of the Queen Anne Street pulpit is the 
Rev. James Young, who entered on the charge in 1831, and by whom a 
copy of the baptismal register was kindly forwarded to my cousin. 



DUNFERMLINE. / 

Question my taste, if you will, but deny not my possible 
usefulness. The Seceders, it must be remembered, were 
not theoretically Anti-Establishment men. The union of 
Church and State was to them no stumbling-block, but, 
contrariwise, a thing which they approved. They saw in 
the system manifold advantages, so long (that is to say) as 
the State was of one mind with the Church, but not when 
civil power trampled on ecclesiastical rights, or when 
worldly policy prevailed against spiritual interests. Op- 
pressive measures, however, were enacted from time to time 
through the influence of Erastianism; and among them 
none were more galling- than those connected with the law 
of patronage. Accordingly, when the General Assembly 
framed an act in 1732, to the effect that in case of a 
patron's failing to exercise his right of presentment, a 
parish-minister should be chosen by the majority of the 
elders and Protestant heritors, — thereby depriving of an 
elective voice* such as had no landed property, while con- 
ferring the privilege on men who might possibly be alto- 
gether disaffected to the cause and kingdom of Christ, — 
the induction of preachers, on such terms, was vehemently 
resisted. Votes of censure were passed upon those who 
were known to have been active in the resistance. The 
non-intrusionists, in self-defence, drew up protests, 
representations, statements of grievances ; to which, re- 
proofs, citations, and suspensions were the summary 
mode of reply. Synods met; Commissions were held; 
sentence of deposition was passed against the little band 
who persisted in opposing the unpopular movement ; and 
thus in 17o3 the measure of secession was forced upon 



* The Patronage-act of 1690 had ordained that "the heritors propose 
(not present) a person, to be approvenor disapproven by the congregation.'" 



8 EARLY LIFE. 

them, — a secession which they declared to be "not from 
the principles and constitution of the Church of Scotland," 
but solely " from the prevailing party in the ecclesiastical 
courts." At the head of the seceding company was 
Ebenezer Erskine of Stirling; and not less zealous in the 
cause was his brother Ralph, then parish -minister of Dun- 
fermline, in which town as well as in other parts of Scot- 
land, the favourers of this the "Associate Presbytery" 
widely and rapidly increased. 

It was to the Secession-body that George Henderson of 
The Linn belonged. Of the Queen Anne Street Church 
he was for many years a member and elder. He was 
superior to most in his station as to culture of mind. He 
was, moreover, a man of undoubted piety. Hence there 
is no room to question that he sought, after the good old 
Scotch fashion, or rather the good old patriarchal custom, 
to train his children from their earliest years in the know- 
ledge of religious truth. 

While his youngest son was still of very tender years, 
Mr. George Henderson removed with his family to Wauk- 
mill (or Waulkmill), situated to the S.W. of the town, at 
no great distance from the Firth of Forth. From the 
minutes of Session, kindly extracted by the Pev. Dr. 
Johnstone, it appears that he acted as elder in Limekilns 
congregation for nearly two years and a half. It was 
probably toward the latter end of 1790 that he moved by 
special request to Lochend, three miles due N. of Dun- 
fermline. Here he continued for the remaining three- 
and-twenty years of his life, taking the entire oversight of 
the farm and its concerns. Thomas Purvis, Esq., to 
whom the property belonged, often spoke, in the highest 
terms, of his sagacity and integrity. The following is the 
testimony which, in later years, his son was able to give 



DUNFERMLINE. 9 

as to his Christian character. It was written from Copen- 
hagen, after the news of his decease had been received: — 

" The firmest conviction, never ruffled by the smallest doubt, that 
he was a child of God and an heir of glory, — that he had served 
his day and generation to purpose on earth, and was as a sheaf fully 
ripe for the eternal harvest in heaven, — always soothed my mind 
when I realized the period of his removal, and I was at all times 
fully persuaded that my loss and that of the rest of the family 
would prove his unspeakable and everlasting gain. Still I flattered 
myself last summer, while noting down what occurred to me 
respecting the wonders of Iceland, that should it please the Lord to 
carry me back, I should have great satisfaction in reading my notes 
to him, and conversing with him on subjects which must have 
interested him the more as they were what he never perhaps knew 
were in existence. Blessed be God, the greater wonders of redemp- 
tion, which chiefly employed his thoughts while here below, now 
eclipse everything else ; he now partakes of a more sublime joy, a 
more permanent and unalloyed satisfaction. May we be followers 
of him and all those who now through faith and patience inherit 
the promises." 

It is generally admitted that the home-discipline of the 
past age was characterized, especially beyond the Tweed, 
by a somewhat undue severity. The "taws" were in 
frequent requisition ; and, for the ruling of a Scottish 
household, the fasces of the lictor would have been a 
meeter ensign than the golden sceptre of love. The result 
attained was often far different from the effect desired. 
The wayward spirit was made restive by the very curb 
intended to restrain it ; and the yoke, which was made 
too heavy, served to provoke resistance rather than to 
induce submission. There were several instances of this 
in the early career which now comes under review. 
Though trivial in themselves, they may illustrate the 
unwise though well-intended mode of treatment, formerly 
pursued by parents and guardians'; and may also serve to 
indicate in the child that determinateness of spirit which, 



10 



EARLY LIFE. 



when subsequently directed into a right channel, and 
kept within due bounds, helped to secure consistency of 
character and firmness of purpose. 

On one occasion, when between seven and eight years 
old, the little Ebenezer — despite his having been pro- 
moted not many months before to the dignity of " best 
man" at his brother's wedding — was caught in the act of 
perpetrating some childish mischief. Words being deemed 
an insufficient corrective, his mother laid hold of a stick ; 
and thus armed, she chased the young delinquent into the 
house. Less disposed to yield than at the first, but find- 
ing his last chance of escape cut off, he turned suddenly 
round to face his pursuer. The intended defiance met 
with a severe and unlooked-for check. Making a retro- 
grade movement as he turned, he came in contact with 
the edge of a cog that stood behind him, full of boiling 
whey. Into this he fell backward, and so terribly scalded 
both his legs, that when able again to venture out of 
doors he had to go on crutches, with every prospect of 
being a confirmed cripple. His only occupation now was 
that of keeping guard over the sheep; his best amuse- 
ment, that of conning over all the picture-books that 
came within his reach, — such as were illustrative of 
Natural History being his chief delight. 

Happily, the penalty was not life-long. One day he 
met a stranger, an old woman of the vagrant, if not of 
the mendicant tribe, who compassionated his misfortune, 
and inquired as to the cause. " Puir bit laddie," she 
said, " it's a pity til see ye ganging about on stults ; gang 
hame, an' tell yer mither til tak the cog ye fell intil, — the 
same cog, mark ye, — an' fill it wi' boilin' water, an' tell 
her til pit yer legs our't, an 5 than kiver thame oure wi 5 
blankets til keep the steam in, an' than let her stritch 



DUNFERMLINE. 1 1 

out ae leg, an' than the tither, betimes till they come 
stracht," This being reported at home, his mother acted 
on the principle that the attempt could at least do no 
harm, and might be worth the making. Day by day she 
repeated the experiment ; and, either distrustful of so 
literal a " similia similibus curantur," or else wishful to 
maintain the credit of a favourite remedy, she added to 
the prescription a supplemental rubbing of the limbs with 
hog's lard. The gradual relaxing of the contracted 
muscles encouraged her to persevere, and after the lapse 
of several weeks the cure was complete. 

It was a coincidence, not unworthy perhaps of notice, 
that at this very time there was a little girl, scarcely 
three years old, whose parents were sending her from 
London to a country-school at Clapham, yet with the 
express injunction, " Let her have plenty of air, and food, 
and amusement, but do not trouble her with learning, 
for the poor little thing will never live." Who would 
not have been scorned as false prophets if they had ven- 
tured to predict that the crippled boy at Dunfermline was 
to extend his travels from Hecla to Vesuvius, and from 
Tornea to Tiflis,— or that the infant-invalid in the metro- 
politan suburb was to be his survivor, after a union of 
exactly forty years ? The realized improbabilities of any 
single century, if they could be gathered into a collective 
record, would form a singular volume ; nor would it be 
an uninstructive one, if it tended to confirm our faith in 
Him who so wondrously holds in His hand all the threads 
of every individual life, adjusting each to each, now inter- 
twining and now crossing them, yet ever approximating 
or distancing, lengthening or shortening them " severally 
as He will/' while as continually and as truly what He 
wills is what is best. 



12 EARLY LIFE. 

It must have been soon after his recovery that the 
child, who had thus shown himself a little beyond his 
mother's management, was sent to what is termed a 
"road-side school." The distance of a parochial school* 
from many* villages that were comprised within the same 
parish, led frequently to the establishment of inferior 
schools upon adventure ; but the teachers, being dependent 
entirely on the very small payments made for the children, 
and finding the amount to be barely sufficient for the 
scantiest maintenance, few (if any) well-educated men 
were found occupying such a post, so that the tuition 
given was exceedingly meagre in quality as well as stinted 
in quantity. The merest rudiments would probably be 
all that could, at least in those days, be picked up at the 
Dunduff School, a mile eastward of The Linn. 

About the year 1794, the young pupil was transferred 
to a school in Dunfermline itself, and there also he 
attended daily. It was kept by Mr. John Eeid, Precentor 
in Queen Anne Street Church, who had been one of the 
witnesses to his baptism, and who is said to have been in 
some respects a man of note in the district. f Here he 

* Dunfermline had no parochial school, but in lieu of it a burgh-school, 
which was endowed by Queen Anne in the beginning of the 17th century. 

f The school was kept in what was then called Rotten Row, which 
was a continuation of Queen Anne Street, and has now merged its name 
in that of the latter. Mr. Reid, who was a teacher in Dunfermline for 
nearly half a century, was an excellent mathematician, and well versed 
in the science of Navigation, always holding a special class in winter- 
time that was numerously attended by sailors from the Limekilns, Inver- 
keithing, and Burntisland. He died Dec. 23, 1816, aged 70 years, and a 
marble monument in the churchyard was erected to his memory " by his 
scholars, as a testimony of their high sense of his abilities and moral 
worth." For a long while after his death, his pupils kept up an annual 
meeting at the " New Inn." In 1818, Dr. Henderson, when on a visit to 
his native land, attended one of these anniversaries by special invitation. 
The practice has now died out, owing to the dispersion or death of most 
who had been wont to assemble. 



DUNFERMLINE. 13 

must have acquired some knowledge of writing, English, 
arithmetic, geography, and so forth. One of his surviving 
schoolfellows states, that he was of so retiring a disposi- 
tion, as to have formed few acquaintances among his 
class-mates. Another, however, who is still living, has a 
vivid remembrance of joining him after school-hours in 
many a search for linnets 5 nests on the braes at Lochhead 
and the Blackloch, It is stated, but only on one autho- 
rity, that he also attended the Grammar School in the 
afternoon of the day ; that there he was under the tuition 
of Mr. Peter Ramsay ; and that he steadily maintained his 
place as dux of the Latin class. If he entered the school at 
all, it is not likely to have been at so early an age. He may 
possibly have joined the class at a later period, when 
anxious to attain a knowledge of the language, and able 
to bear the expense for himself. 

Two years at Dunfermline, after one year and a half at 
Dunduff, formed the sum-total of his schooling. At twelve 
years old, it was time he should be trained to something 
in the way of handicraft. After a few months spent in 
helping at the farm, and diversified by sundry boyish 
escapades which are not worth recordal, a good oppor- 
tunity offered for giving him a fair start. His brother 
John, his senior by fifteen years, having set up as a clock- 
and-watch-maker in the town, it was agreed that he 
should be initiated into that trade beneath the fraternal 
roof. To fraternal discipline he was by no means disposed 
to submit ; and he took an early opportunity of showing 
his independence, or as he himself in w r iser years would have 
termed it, his wilfulness. He had a strong desire to 
attend the races, which had for two years past been held 
on the Carnock Road ; and being now freed from the 
trammels of school, he had set his heart on gratifying the 



14 EAULY LIFE. 

wish. His brother-guardian, fearful lest he should fall 
into evil company, peremptorily forbade his going; but, 
despite all prohibitions, the truant found means to get 
away. The equestrian competition was followed by foot- 
races and other rustic amusements, which were kept up 
in exciting succession till nine in the evening. It was 
ten o'clock before he could reach home, to give (no doubt) 
a conscience-stricken knock at his brother's door. The 
window was opened. " Wha's that?" "It's me, it's 
Ebie." " Gang awa'," was the sole response ; " ye wuna 
get a bed here the nicht, sae ye maun jist gang home til 
yer faither's." Barefooted, in the guise of a true Scotch 
lad, off he set, bravely encountering the three miles' walk, 
and presented himself at his father's house on the verge 
of midnight. His parents, strict though they were about 
" elder's 'ours," gave him a ready admission, but blamed 
him for his disobedience, and sent him back the next 
morning with due admonitions as to his future conduct. 
Mindful also of the saying that " a man's gift maketh 
room for him," his mother took care that, instead of going 
back empty-handed, he should carry with him a pound 
of butter by way of peace-offering. The watchmaker, and 
Janet his wife, showed themselves disposed to forgive and 
forget; yet they could not refrain from asking whether 
he had not been afraid to run past " the witch's plantain." 
c< 'Deed, no," was the reply ; {l I jist pu'd my bannit oure 
my e'en, and keekit (peeped) through a wee bit hole that 
wis in V* 



* We find him on one occasion making reference to the superstitious 
timorousness of his childhood. After describing how, on a night so 
stormy that it was impossible to pitch his tent, he had consented to pass 
the night in the Icelandic church of Urdir, with his hammock swung from 
the altar-railing to the pulpit-pillar in the centre of the little rustic edifice, 



DUNFERMLINE. 15 

After this, things went on pretty smoothly for the space 
of a year and a half, during which time he acquired an 
insight into the craft, that was of no little use to him in 
later life, when, amid his wanderings, recourse to a pro- 
fessed artisan for the rectification of his pocket-timekeeper 
would have been impossible. With the knowledge, 
nevertheless, there came not any liking for the work ; and 
indifference to it may have produced its fruits in occa- 
sional remissness. In some heedless moment he managed 
to destroy a clock-wheel, while occupied with cutting 
teeth in it. A difference ensued on the subject; it led to 
a hasty parting between the brothers ; nor was it for some 
years that reconciliation was effected. 

For some three or four months there was nothing to do 
but remain at home, where, in order that he might not 
absolutely " eat the bread of idleness," he was employed 
in guarding Mr. Purvis's sheep and cows as they grazed 
upon the hills. James Clark, his nephew (son to his only 
surviving sister Margaret), used " til tak' his bit dinner 
to him," which usually consisted of oat-cake, cheese, and 
milk. 

It was probably near the end of July, 1799, that he 
made another attempt at learning a trade, and was placed 
for three years as an out-door apprentice to Mr. Thomas 
Morrison, boot-and-shoe-maker in East Port Street, grand- 
father to the present Burgh-treasurer. In the workroom 
he had six or eight companions, with several of whom he 
was on terms of friendship. Of his progress in this 



he adds, " I here enjoyed as comfortable a night's rest as ever I did in my 
life ; and in the morning I could not help reflecting on the very different 
feelings with which I was penetrated in my boyish days, when I could 
not have gone near a church, or passed through a churchyard in the dark, 
for any possible consideration." — Iceland, vol. ii., p. 221. 



16 EARLY LIFE. 

department nothing is ascertainable. There is no reason 
to believe that he proved an adept. Yet he had no posi- 
tive distaste for the calling, since, at the close of his 
apprenticeship, he formed a temporary engagement with 
another house to learn the ladies' shoe-making. 

He had not yet found the niche in which he was to 
take his stand. Yet there are proofs that he was being 
prepared for it, though the full particulars of that process 
are unrecorded. 

The religious state of Scotland at that period — the 
Laodicean Moderatism and formalistic Pharisaism which 
for the most part - characterized the Kirk, — the controver- 
sialism which was agitating the Secession-body, and the 
party -disputes that were bringing about a severance 
between the Old-Light and the New-Light Burghers, 
have been detailed with painful accuracy by the pen of 
Scotland's later church historians. Choice biographies, 
on the other hand, have made us familiar with the names 
of noble-minded and zealous-hearted men, who were raised 
up to do a mighty and a much-needed work in going as 
Avell as in sending forth to publish anew the well-nigh 
forgotten jubilee-notes of a free and full salvation. Un- 
authorized teachers they might be, according to the precise 
letter of the canon ; but who shall say that, according to 
the spirit of Holy Writ, they had not a high commission 
to their work ? — i( let him that heareth say, Come." The 
ardour and activity of Mr. Robert Haldane, when he put 
forth with a boat from the Foudroyant to save, if so he 
might, some few of the Royal George's drowning crew, 
was but a dim foreshadowing of his zeal in those more im- 
portant and more successful enterprises to which he was 
afterwards to devote himself in behalf of souls exposed to a 
yet more fearful peril. And those who can admire the 



DUNFERMLINE. 17 

promptitude with which his brother, Mr. James Haldane, 
saved the Montrose, by seizing the ship's trumpet and 
summoning " every soul on deck/' instead of waiting till 
he could make the Captain perceive the imminence of the 
danger, and give the order which might then have been 
too late, ought surely to yield a like heartfelt approbation 
to the readiness with which, in a great religious crisis, he 
set himself to do what was being neglected by the men 
officially consecrated to the duty. 

It is known that in the itinerant tours established by 
Messrs. James Haldane and Aikman, Dunfermline was 
not forgotten. A sawpit at the top of Chalmers' Street, 
and an open space in Woodhead Street, are remembered 
in connexion with various out- door preachings to an 
assembled multitude. Many of the ungodly were awak- 
ened, and the godly were stirred up to works of good- 
doing. Sunday-schools were established, and they rapidly 
flourished. Of the "six" that are recorded as having 
been in a prosperous state within the parishes of Dun- 
fermline as early as 1798,* there was one in which were 
enrolled the names of Ebenezer Henderson and Douglas 
Cusine {pronounced Cousin), — the two who are remem- 
bered as having borne the palm for diligence and attention. 

In 1799, Mr. James Haldane, on his second tour, 
preached at Dunfermline on the evening of Tuesday, 
May 7th, and the morning of Wednesday, May 8th, " to a 
good congregation, though the weather was very unfavour- 
able, and no place for preaching could be obtained within 
doors." f The month following, Mr. Rowland Hill and 
Mr. Greville Ewing undertook a tour. On Thursday, 
June 20th, the latter preached at Dunfermline on the 

* Missionary Mag., yoI. iii. (1798), p. 479, f Ibid. vol. iv, (1799), p. 460. 



18 EARLY LIFE. 

words, " Except your righteousness shall exceed the righ* 
teousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case 
enter into the kingdom of heaven."* On their return, 
Rowland Hill writes : — " Tuesday, July 16. Went to 
Dunfermline, a well-situated pleasant town, once the 
principal residence of the Scottish kings, the birth-place 
of the unfortunate Charles I., and the burying-place of 
many of the royal race. The church, which must have 
been formerly very magnificent, is in ruins, except a fourth 
part, which is kept up for public worship ; and the remains 
of the Palace stand only a proof of what time can effect 
against the proudest monuments of antiquity. I preached 
to near 2000 people in a neighbouring field in the even- 
ing, and gave them another sermon on the Wednesday 
morning." f 

The stir which was made by these proceedings cannot 
fail to have excited general attention, and is known to 
have produced much thoughtfulness. Whether Dr. 
Henderson had to ascribe his conversion instrumentally 
to one or other of these sermons, which it is far from 
unlikely that he went to hear, or whether at this season 
were .revived long -dormant impressions, together with 
such a superinduced preparedness of heart as helped, 
under the Divine blessing, to render other preaching 
effectual, is altogether uncertain. On this we can but 
speculate. The work, most likely, was a gradual one. 
Certain it is that about this time he began to study the 
oracles of God, — speculatively, at first, and controversially, 
— practically afterwards, and by God's grace savingly. 
Several youths in Dunfermline, and he among the number, 
now formed themselves into a society for reading, exposi- 

* Memoirs of the Rev. Greville Ewing, by Mrs. Matheson, pp. 219, 220. 
f R. Hill's Second Tour, 4to. London, 1800, p. 26. 



DUNFERMLINE. 19 

tion, and prayer, meeting weekly for the purpose in an 
"upper room." From this time there was in him a 
perceptible and permanent change. From this time 
forward there was no more self-seeking, no more worldly 
indulgence. Henceforth he lived a Christian life, and 
manifested that " wisdom which is from above, which is 
first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, 
full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and 
without hypocrisy." 

The time of his first open profession has not been ascer- 
tainable. It is not unlikely that he was enrolled on the 
list of avowed disciples among the members of the Dun- 
fermline Tabernacle.* Perhaps it is best that we should 
know so little as to the implanting of the root, since there 
is such ample evidence as to the abundance and richness 
of the matured fruit. Possibly there is among us at times 
an unhealthy curiosity in seeking to pry into the hidden 
workings of other men's souls, and to pore over the out- 
breathings of their private experiences. Too great a stress 
may be laid upon the " rise," while less than due atten- 
tion is given to the "progress" of religion in the soul. 
Perhaps there is need that in regard to the heart's all- 
important change, as in regard to everything else, we 
should be reminded of the veil which it sometimes pleases 
the Most High to draw around the mode of His working, 
even when He suffers us to behold and share the results 
of it. Once there were some who knew, what now we 
vainly wish to know. But it may well content us to be 
assured that the record could and would have been pre- 

* This building was subsequently sold, and has been converted, partly 
into a dwelling-house, and partly into shops. In 1841, the present Inde- 
pendent Church was formed, and the Chapel in Canmore Street opened on 
the second day of the year ensuing. 



20 EARLY LIFE. 

served for us if aught of essential benefit had attended the 
possession of it. 

The companions of his early religious life, Messrs. 
Thomas Morrison, Adam Kirk, David Dewar, Richard 
Gossman, William Meldrum, David Hatton, etc., all 
preceded him to the grave; and the only survivor who 
might have been able to throw light upon the subject is 
precluded from so doing by reason of his advanced years. 
Concerning Douglas Cusine, already named, a few words 
may here be added. He was sent out in 1803 by the 
Edinburgh Missionary Society to Karass, but the youngest 
and healthiest of that mission-band was the earliest taken 
to his rest. On visiting the burial-ground of the colonists, 
Dr. Henderson thus wrote in 1821 : — 

" It was with feelings of no common, but melancholy interest, 
that I had pointed out to me the grave of Douglas Cousin, with 
whom in early life I had taken sweet counsel about the things of 
God, and joined in the prayers regularly presented by an associa- 
tion of which we were members, for the spread of Divine truth, and 
the extension of the kingdom of God among men. At that time, 
neither of the Societies by which we were sent into Russia had 
sprung into existence, nor did we entertain the smallest conception 
that either of us should ever visit these parts. Yet, in the inscrutable 
providence of God, he was conducted to this scene of missionary 
labour, and after spending about a year with his brethren, died on 
the 10th of October, 1804 ; while, after the lapse of seventeen years, 
I was spared to visit his grave, and shed a tear over departed worth ! 
He died, his brethren observed in the letter announcing the event, 
like a true Christian. Being asked, a little before he expired, if he 
wished anything to be written concerning him to an old Christian 
friend in Scotland, whom he greatly esteemed, — he thought a little, 
and then said, with a peculiar and expressive tone, ' Yes, tell him 
I died in the faith,— full in the faith.' " * 

But to return. Though the young convert had now 
entered the service of Him who is the Prince of peace, he 

* Biblical Researches and Travels in Russia, p. 464. 



DUNFERMLINE. 21 

did not think himself thereby discharged from the duty 
of aiding his king and country, when there was a call for 
measures of national defence. Hence, when a corps of 
volunteers was being raised in May, 1808, to aid in repel- 
ling Napoleon's threatened invasion, he donned the royally- 
emblazoned hat, and was duly trained to the practice of 
varied military evolutions. Even this brief passage in his 
life's story had its meaning and its use. When travelling 
over the Nogai and other steppes, he and his companions 
were dependent for days together on game of their own 
killing; and the snipes, at which he fired from the 
carriage, were acceptable proofs that he had not in vain 
learned to take an aim and to discharge a shot. 

It is as a volunteer in the service and the cause of 
Christ that next he comes under our notice ; and we pass 
from the one topic to the other by no forced or fanciful 
allusion. " Thy people shall be volunteers in the day of 
thy power," was the rendering he always gave to the 
words of David, in Psa. ex. 8. Like Amasiah, the son of 
Zichri, he had " willingly offered himself unto the Lord," 
though not for a carnal, but a spiritual warfare. Not as 
a mercenary, working for the wages of eternal life, did 
he enlist, but as a grateful subject and servant, who felt 
that he owed to his King and Saviour his soul, his life, 
his all. 

The needful preparation for future duty was freely 
given him in the Seminary, which had been originated 
and was still supported by the generosity of Mr. Robert 
Haldane. Whether the application he made was suggested 
only by the invitations put forth in the Missionary Maga- 
zine, or whether it was a step expressly urged upon him 
by some minister or friend, is dubious. One circumstance 
is narrated which has a bearing on the point. A niece of 



22 EARLY LIFE. 

his recollects hearing that he occasionally went, at Mr. 
Morrison's request, to the Baptist Meetings, held at the 
"Union Lodge" in Bridge Street. One Sabbath, the 
minister who was to supply, arrived from Alloa, but was 
so severely affected with hoarseness, that he was unable 
to discharge his errand. Mr. David Dewar — who was one 
of the main props of the little congregation, and their 
usual preacher — was on the spot, but was in some way 
hindered from undertaking the requisite duty. Mr. Mor- 
rison, aware of the private fellowship-meetings held by 
his apprentices, induced Mr. Henderson to fill the vacant 
place. His mode of conducting the service met with 
great acceptance ; and it is easily to be inferred that 
Mr. Dewar would not be backward in recommending his 
friend to seek an education for the pulpit. 

It appears further, that a Dunfermline youth, a pious 
weaver, who had united with him in the religious exer- 
cises already referred to, cherished a desire to enter the 
ministry, and went with him to the Scotch metropolis. 
It is probable that the two had conferred together, and 
that they joined in proposing themselves as candidates. 
After due enquiry, both were received on satisfactory 
testimonials as to moral and religious character, though 
ultimately it was only one of them who was publicly set 
apart as a messenger of the Cross. 

The Seminary-arrangements were that the members of 
the class should meet for daily tuition, boarding them- 
selves, and receiving — in addition to the gift of class- 
books, and the grant (when needful) of medical advice — 
an allowance of ££4 the first year, and £30 the second. 
The course of instruction was brief, but the biennial term 
was thought the utmost that was compatible with the 
urgent demand for home and foreign labourers. Although 



EDINBURGH. 23 

none in the present day could wisely advocate a recur- 
rence to the plan, yet on the whole there was less ground 
than might have been expected for any just complaints as 
to the result. The very shortness of the curriculum might 
possibly incite to a more heedful redeeming of the time ; 
and the stimulus thus given was no mean thing when it 
stirred up the student to diligent self-improvement, and 
laid the foundation on which he might erect the goodly 
superstructure of extensive and lofty attainment. Dr. 
Henderson, when he became a tutor, always urged the 
importance of a prolonged collegiate course ; and doubtless 
felt that had his own preparatory studies been of longer 
continuance, he might have gone forth better equipped 
for his work. Yet for what had been freely accorded 
him he was grateful ; and he turned it to the best account. 
His friendship for the Haldanes, however, was to 
survive his friendship with them. Many circumstances 
co-operated to bring about a gradual coolness and estrange- 
ment, though nothing like enmity or unkindly feeling. 
Mr. Robert Haldane, to whom especially the debt of 
thankfulness was owing, felt himself called to act the part 
of a strong controversialist, and it was scarcely within the 
limits of possibility to be on terms of intimacy at once 
with him and with those against whom he was issuing 
his pamphlets. The advocate of verbal Inspiration, 
moreover, could not be expected to demonstrate much 
sympathy with one who wrote in opposition to the views 
he held so dear. The decrier of Moses Stuart and 
Tholuck could scarcely fail to look with suspicion on one 
who, without adopting all the tenets or vindicating all the 
expressions of those learned Professors, did not hesitate 
to edit Commentaries by the former, and to eulogize the 
writings of the latter. < These differences in opinion were 



24 EARLY LIFE. 

a barrier to intercourse, though, they did not necessitate 
alienation of heart. The memory of the past was not 
obliterated. Fellowship in sentiment had been overthrown, 
but gratitude survived, and Christian love remained. 

The class of 1803, the fifth in order of institution, was 
the one which the Dunfermline candidate joined, and to 
Edinburgh he accordingly repaired. It is stated by one 
of his surviving fellow-students, the Rev. James Kennedy 
of Inverness, who has won 1 for himself a good repute as 
the prince of Gaelic preachers, that they both lodged for a 
while beneath the same roof. It was in the house of 
Mr. Stronach, the father of Messrs. John and Alexander 
Stronach, whose names are so well known in connexion 
with the mission-field in China. The testimony, borne 
by Mr. Kennedy concerning his class-mate, is to the effect 
that he was at that time " more of a linguist than of a 
theologian;" — "more given to literature," says another, 
" than to divinity." It is not surprising that such should 
have been the case. The one was to him not only a seem- 
ingly newer theme of study, but that which he felt the 
immediate need of pursuing. Trained in the formularies 
of a so-called orthodoxy, — jealous perhaps even then, as 
he always was, of innovations that might be error-fraught, 
— and averse to everything like " the strife of words," — 
he may not at that early period have seen the necessity 
of bending his attention to polemic theology. 

As a student, he was characterized by diligence ; as a 
companion, he was " sprightly, cheerful, and happy." A 
resemblance was traced between him and the late Rev. 
Alexander Dewar, who was only six months younger than 
himself, and of the same bright, placid, loving spirit. 
Judging from a biographical sketch of that worthy minister, 
it may be inferred that the early promise of likeness was 



EDINBURGH. 25 

not belied in the maturity of life. The one, it is true, 
resided among the rustics of a northern village ; whereas 
the other, gaining admission into a wider and a higher 
circle, acquired superior urbanity of manners and refine- 
ment of taste ; but this (to use a common metaphor) was 
a difference only in the setting, while the jewel remained 
the same. Apart from the accidentals of circumstance, 
there was an abiding similarity of aim and effort. Their 
position and pursuits varied; their turn of mind still 
harmonized. The minister of Avoch forswore the higher 
paths of literature, but expressed himself conscious of a 
power within, that might have enabled him to vie with 
any of his compeers in making the ascent. The Professor 
of sacred Oriental lore had fewer opportunities of tracing 
the influence of his labours upon the conversion of souls, 
but knowing himself to be actuated by an earnest desire 
to subserve God's glory, he could wisely rest in the know- 
ledge that the result seen is not always a true gauge of 
the result accomplished, and that a man's indirect useful- 
ness may exceed that which is direct. The one, who was 
avowedly a pastor, was found year by year performing the 
work of an evangelist. The other, who was professedly 
an evangelist, did the work of a pastor whenever and 
wherever there was a call to do so. Each in his own 
sphere was an eminently practical man; and it might be 
said with equal truth of either, " He could comprehend 
and seize the leading features of a complicated question, 
though he rarely (if ever) dealt in barren abstractions ; 
strong, broad, good sense was a distinguishing element of 
his mind ; he was a man of facts and fundamental prin- 
ciples."* It does not appear that, between these two, 

* Obituary (Rev. A. Dewar), Scotch Congregational Magazine, vol. ix., 
p. 357. 



£6 EARLY LIFE. 

there was ever a close intimacy. As ordinarily, so in this 
case, likeness of disposition did not involve specialty of 
affection. 

In the Memoir of the late Rev. John Watson, of Mus- 
selburgh, who was pursuing his studies under the same 
auspices, has been drawn a picture, which may fairly be 
transferred to the present page. The limner, indeed, was 
not an eye-witness of what he has represented, but he has 
so graphically embodied hearsay notices, or so felicitously 
allowed his imagination of earlier days to take its colour- 
ing from later personal knowledge, that the verisimilitude 
of the sketch may allow of its being accepted as a genuine 
portrait from life. After a distinctive notice of one and 
another, as they sat side by side in the class, attention is 
called to yet a third : — 

" Look once more at that youth on whose ruddy cheek the finger of 
care seems never to have rested, and who, with beaming eye and 
countenance all over radiant with triumph, is showing to his neighbour 
a copy of the Elzevir Greek New Testament, which he has had the good 
fortune to secure at a bookstall on his way to the class : — that little 
Elzevir will become the foundation of a noble library rich in every 
department of oriental and biblical lore ; and in its joyful possessor, 
Ebenezer Henderson, thou seest one who, after a quarter of a century 
spent in the north of Europe in the work of Bible distribution, — 
after exploring Iceland, and pursuing his biblical researches from the 
Ultima Thule to the shores of the Caspian, shall return to assume 
the presidency of a theological institution in the British metropolis, 
and to employ his leisure time on works that shall place him in the 
first rank of biblical scholars at home, and spread his fame in foreign 
universities as ' one of the most learned of English theologians.' " 
(p. 56). 

For his fellow-students, Dr. Henderson ever retained a 
warm affection. Let them come to him when or whence 
they might, whether from among the heath-clad moors of 
his native land, or from the secluded glens of some mid- 
county in Ireland, they were sure of a cordial though 



EDINBURGH. 27 

quiet welcome. Or, as one after another was laid low 
by the stroke of death, the departed were held by him in 
tenderest remembrance. He who had mourned for the 
young missionary at Karass, could in like manner deplore 
the removal of brethren at home. In 1833, when visiting 
Greenock, he preached there three times on the Sabbath, 
and administered the Lord's Supper, at which latter 
service he was fairly overpowered by the recollection of 
his friend and fellow-student, Mr. Hercus,* who for twice 
twelve years had laboured in that sphere ; nay, so mani- 
fest was his irrepressible emotion when alluding to the 
deceased, that many of the church-members were aifected 
to tears by the re-awakened memory of their own loss, and 
by the tribute of affection thus paid to their late loved 
and honoured pastor. 

Dr. Henderson's tutors were Messrs. Stephens, Wemyss, 
and Aikman, the last-named being succeeded in 1804 by 
Mr. George Cowie of Montrose. All of them were note- 
worthy men. Mr. Stephens, reclaimed from the down- 
ward course of a gamester and the ensnaring vocation of 
an actor, had quitted the ministry of the stage, and been 
ultimately led into that of the sanctuary. After having 
sustained for a short time the pastoral relation to the 
church at Aberdeen, he was induced to act as colleague 
to Mr. James Haldane in Edinburgh, and was also en- 
trusted to superintend the English literature and the 
church-history department in the Seminary. Mr. Thomas 
Wemyss, author of " Clavis Symbolica ; a Key to the 
symbolic language of Scripture," " Biblical Gleanings, or 

* The Rev. Mr. Hercus died in May, 1830. His last seizure attacked 
him in the pulpit, an evening-service having been just concluded, and a 
church-meeting announced to succeed it. "All is well" was the breath- 
ing of his own confidence, and the balm wherewith he sought to alleviate 
the anguished hearts of survivors. 



28 EARLY LIFE. 

a collection of passages generally considered to be mis- 
translated/' and a new version of the book of " Job" with 
accompanying Notes, was employed to give instruction in 
English Grammar and in Greek. Mr. Aikman, who had 
been so singularly awakened to understand what are the 
•'• Utterances " of a Christian " Heart/' by his unwitting 
purchase of Xewton's Cardiphonia as an intended addition 
to the stock of novels in his Jamaican circulating library, 
had now attained so high a standing in the church, and 
such boldness in the faith, that none could have been 
better qualified to undertake the theological training, and 
to pass his comments on the essays and sermons which 
the students were required to prepare. Mr. Cowie, who 
afterwards undertook this branch of the tutorship, and 
united with it the teaching of Hebrew, was a man pos- 
sessed of considerable humour, and prone to indulge in 
sarcasms which were often marked by eccentricity, though 
not by intentional, or — when intentional — not needless 
asperity.* 

To each of these four gentlemen, Dr. Henderson felt a 
life-long attachment ; and the sentiment was fully recipro- 
cated. They all lived to rejoice for him and with him, on 
account of all the goodness which had been made to pass 
before him. With Mr. Aikman he kept up an occasional 
correspondence during his earlier years of foreign travel. 
With the pastor of Montrose he had, during his visits home, 
many a cheering interview, many a pleasant talk over fi by- 
gane tymes and late-come changes ; M and on his final return, 
thinking his services would be invaluable in Edinburgh, 



* Mr. William Walker, who became one of the tutors after the fifth 
class had terminated, was at this time a student, and is said to have 
greatly aided his brethren in their voluntary acquisition of Latin. (See 
Dr. Alexander's Memoir of the Rev. John Watson, p. 32.) 



EDINBURGH. 29 ' 

Mr. Cowie broached the matter to an influential party 
resident there at the time, but the suggestion not being 
acted on, Dr. Henderson's services were secured in the 
South. In 1818, the latter was in York, whence he 
writes, " I spent the Lord's day with my worthy tutor, 
Mr. "Wemyss, and preached in the evening in the new 
Independent Chapel." In July 1827, we find the follow- 
ing record in a letter : — "I drove over to Rochdale, where 
I preached in the hearing of my old tutor, Mr. Stephens, 
now Baptist minister in that town, who was quite rejoiced 
to see me, and last night at the public meeting very feel- 
ingly alluded to the time when I was a babe in grace, and 
the share he had in nurturing me." 

It has been repeatedly alleged against Mr. Haldane's 
students that they imbibed and promulgated the principles 
of Sandemanianism. They have again and again re- 
pudiated the charge, and so did Mr. James Haldane in 
their behalf; but as perse veringly has it still been laid at 
their door. It would here be out of place to enter on so 
perplexed a question in its general aspect. As it regards 
the particular case in hand, it might almost be deemed 
superfluous to rebut the censure. No one who knew Dr. 
Henderson's freedom from all extravagance of opinion, will 
suspect him of having subscribed to Glasite doctrines in 
full ; and none who knew his freedom from the trammels 
of party-prejudice, will suspect that any hue and cry 
against an ism could hinder his extracting from any creed 
what it might contain of good and true.* On the point in 
debate, it may be best to give what are probably his own 

* Even Andrew Fuller, the great champion of the Anti-Glasite party, 
has, in his "Strictures on Sandemanianism," candidly acknowledged that 
" there are many things in the system, which are worthy of serious atten- 
tion." And it is noticeable that Fuller's tract, " The Great Question 



30 EARLY LIFE. 

words, or at all events, words which have received his 
formal imprimatur. In Buck's Dictionary, under the head 
" Sandeman," which, as one of the biographic articles was 
prepared expressly for his edition of that valuable work, 
occurs the following passage : — 

" Though we conceive Sandeman was egregiously mistaken, and 
not more at variance with the known phenomena of the human mind, 
than with the calls and invitations of the gospel, in representing 
faith as something in which the mind is absolutely iwssive ; and 
though there are various things in his writings relative to the 
doctrine of assurance, which will not bear to be tried by the test of 
Scripture ; yet there are, perhaps, after all, few writers who have 
contributed more to lead to simpler and more accurate views of the 
nature of faith, to sweep away the cobwebs which mystified the 
subject of a sinner's obtaining justification before God through the 
righteousness of Christ, and to detect and expose the evils of trim- 
ming, carnal, and worldly systems of religion." 

That faith is a merely intellectual notion, Dr. Henderson 
would never for a moment have conceded ; but that belief 
in the gospel differs in its essential nature from the trust 
we repose in the trustworthy assertions of our fellow-men, 
he would equally have denied. He held that faith, whether 
temporal or spiritual, leads of necessity to some resultant 
course of corresponding action ; and that gospel-faith, 
therefore, cannot exist where there is no receptive act of 
the mind. Hence he would urge to self-examination con 7 
cerning the fruits of our so-called faith, not to determine 
whether it be of the right kind, but whether it be truly 
faith at all. An unappropriating faith in Christ he re- 
garded as a contradiction in terms ; while yet he judged 
that there might be great danger of turning the sinner's 

Answered," which he says was written, though "without controversy," 
yet 'tin contravention" of these tenets, was the second of the tracts trans- 
lated and circulated by Messrs. Paterson and Henderson on their first 
arrival in Denmark. 



EDINBURGH. 31 

thoughts to the act of appropriation instead of directing 
them to the need and the nature of the salvation which has 
to be accepted. The preaching of faith, therefore, instead 
of the preaching of Christ, he utterly condemned. Of faith, 
as of repentance, he would have refused to say that it was 
a "condition" in the sense of meritoriousness ; but he did 
not wholly abjure the term, if rightly understood to denote 
nothing more than indispensableness. He stood at an equal 
remove from Neonomianism on the one hand, and Anti- 
nomianism on the other. He did not deem that men are 
justified for their faith, through God's acceptance of their 
belief in the gospel as a compensation to Him for their 
defective obedience to his law ; nor did he teach that they 
are justified without faith, through a provision which they 
can enjoy irrespective of their own act and deed in the 
reception of it, or irrespective of a subsequent and conse- 
quent change in their course of life. What he proclaimed 
was a righteousness perfectly wrought out, which accom- 
panies a righteousness gradually inwrought, — a righteous- 
ness freely offered, but not universally bestowed, — a right- 
eousness, which is "unto all, and upon all them that 
believe."* 

The priority of repentance to faith, he was not prepared 

* Rom. iii. 22. This verse Dr. Henderson always quoted with marked 
emphasis, and frequently preached on it. In a sermon on Psa. cxix. 96, 
he has this allusion to its meaning : — "a righteousness unto all men in its 
announcement and sufficiency ; upon all that believe, as a perfect covering 
or shelter from the wrath to come." See Doddridge, Prof. Stuart, and 
Haldane. Hodge states that the nal iirl irdvras is omitted in several 
editions and MSS. ; but he regards them as genuine, though he considers 
the two prepositions to be synonymous. The received versions, it is true, 
have not the punctuation which brings out the above idea; but my father 
always advocated the comma as giving the true sense, and was not unin- 
terested on one occasion to find the pause-accent in some edition or MS. 
he was examining. I think it was Syriac, but cannot find that he has 
made a note of it. 



6% EARLY LIFE. 

to admit. Contrition, he believed, must precede pardon, 
since none can find who do not seek, and none will seek 
forgiveness till they realize that they are sinners. But 
evangelical penitence he regarded as inseparable from faith 
in the Crucified One. All disputes as to whether we repent 
before we believe, or believe before we repent, he regarded 
as vain questionings. He could recognise neither faith as 
existing in an impenitent man, nor repentance in an 
unbelieving man. He viewed these two foundation-graces 
of the Christian character as being laid side by side, and 
settling contemporaneously into the ground-soil of the 
renewed heart. Hence the disapproval he could not 
but feel, when a junior-student, who was under his care,, 
wound up a college-sermon by reiterated calls to mere 
repentance, and as if to make the peroration more unmis- 
takably emphatic, closed with the words, " If I possessed 
the voice of an angel, and could summon the inspiration of 
eloquence from a Gabriel, I could utter no other message 
beyond that of my text, f Except ye repent, ye shall all 
likewise perish.' " It might almost have made him say, as 
Mr. Cowie had done on some occasion of the kind, " Sir y 
if you preach such doctrine, it were better for you that a 
millstone were hanged about your neck, and you drowned in 
the depths of the sea." As it was, a strong criticism was 
passed, though doubtless in more measured terms. 

In the vacation, the Seminary students were sent out 
on preaching tours; and during the session, the seniors 
were often engaged as supplies in neighbouring villages. 
Being members of the Tabernacle, they probably took part, 
occasionally at least, in the customary "exhortations" of 
the church. In his earliest homiletic and expository efforts 
Mr. Henderson derived assistance from the study of Poole's 
Annotations, — a work which, not merely for f auld lang 



THE ORKNEYS. 33 

syne/ but also for the value he set on its condensed store 
of unpretending but suggestive remarks, he steadily prized 
to the close of life. 

The summer-recess of 1804 found him appointed to visit 
the Orkneys. He had a few days at home before the time 
fixed for starting. One incident of this visit shows how he 
was anticipating his work, and preparing for it. Going to 
the upper window of a large empty house which stood 
within the farm-premises, he began to speak in a loud voice ; 
and then calling to his nephew, who was some little way 
off, he asked, " James, can you hear me where you are ?" 
"I heard ye, but I didna understand what ye said." (i Go 
a little further away," said the uncle : then having spoken 
again as he did at first, he repeated the call and the enquiry, 
"James, do you hear me now?" " I jist hear ye, but canna 
mak 5 out what 5 tis ye say." The speaker left his place, and 
to the astonishment of his companion, who could not divine 
his intention, he deliberately proceeded to measure the 
respective distance of each spot at which James had been 
stationed, from the window where he himself had stood. 
It was an adequate criterion of his aptitude for open-air 
preaching, and no doubt a useful test of the pitch to which 
he must raise his voice. 

The destitute state of the Orkney islands had excited 
attention for some time past. Parishes were found to 
comprise more than one island. Clergymen were wont to 
preach but on alternate Sundays, and then only when the 
restless friths were navigable. Churches were out of repair ; 
and, in one instance, the Lord's Supper had been dispensed 
no more than twice in four-and-fifty years. But better 
times were dawning. What the Assembly, in its supineness, 
neglected to provide, the zeal of others hastened to supply ; 
and year by year saw itinerant labourers go forth to sow, 

D 



34 EARLY LIFE. 

and afterwards to reap, in that hitherto almost uncultivated 
field. Mr. Henderson's colleague in this expedition was 
Mr. Hercus, who indeed was himself a native of Birsa, and 
who undertook a similar excursion to the islands, as many 
as five times subsequently. With reference to this his first 
mission, Mr. Hercus states that they were " both young, 
and but ill-qualified for the important work,"* yet 
thoroughly in earnest. In point of attendance, they had 
much ground of encouragement ; and found that the visits 
of earlier preachers had roused no small eagerness to hear 
the word. 

It is matter of regret that the details of this journey are 
not found on record. There were points in their route, 
where the travellers temporarily separated, that they might 
preach in adjacent islands or villages. On one such occa- 
sion, Mr. Henderson, according to that hospitable custom 
of entertaining travellers which was still retained among 
the landed proprietors, was lodged in the mansion of a 
retired East Indian merchant, from whom, as the squire of 
the place, leave had been asked to preach on his domain. 
The plea was successfully urged. "We have no preaching 
at the Kirk to-morrow, so I can see no reason why you 
should not give the people a sermon, if you care to do it ; 
come and make my house your home, too, for there is no 
other place fit for you to be in." The young student was 
here surrounded by articles of domestic luxury, rarer and 
costlier than he had yet been wont to see. The array of 
magnificence on every hand occasioned a more than usual 
sensation of bashfulness ; and though the graceful ease of 
manner, and the genuine kindliness of heart, which charac- 
terized the domestic circle, in some measure availed to draw 

* Christian Herald for 1819, p. 350, etc. Compare the vol. for 1830, 
p. 294, etc. 



THE ORKNEYS. 35 

him into conversation, he was nothing loath to retire at an 
early hour to the solitude of his own chamber. The wealthy 
Nabob, with his chess-board and his toddy-glass, sat up 
with other members of the family till long after the mid- 
night-hour. In the morning, his visitor waited for a 
breakfast-bell ; waited ; waited ; but no such summons 
came. He ventured into the dining-room; into the 
parlour ; but no signs of a meal. Time wore away. The 
hour announced for worship was at hand. He must go 
forth and discharge his mission. The service ended, the 
people were clamorous that he should conduct another 2 
before they dispersed to their scattered homes. " Let me 
have a quarter of an hour for rest," he said, " and I will 
meet you again in the church-yard." It was only inci- 
dentally that at a late dinner, the master of the house 
discovered the peculiar circumstances under which the 
preacher had been compelled to perform his task. " Why 
did you not just ring the bell, and order your breakfast 
brought?" To "order" it in another man's house would 
have been truly alien to his characteristic modesty. But 
if aught of physical inconvenience had been endured in the 
forenoon, it was amply compensated by the redoubled 
attentions manifested in the evening, and by the animated 
conversation which made the closing hours of the day pass 
swiftly, and perhaps not uselessly away. When or how the 
truth found entrance into that family is unknown, though 
there is some reason to believe that it may have been 
through the devoted labours of the Hev. Mr. Broadfoot, who 
was then settled in the ministry at Kirkwall. In after 
times, Dr. Henderson met more than one of the daughters, 
who, when married, and resident in London, were rejoiced 
to see him again, and to recall this unforgotten incident of 
their early days. 



36 EARLY LIFE. 

His companion's tour included Fifeshire ; but whether 
Mr. Henderson accompanied him thither seems doubtful. 
The first sermon he is remembered to have preached in his 
native place, was delivered in July of the next year (1805), 
on the Town Green, with a chair for his pulpit, and a friend 
acting as Precentor. His text was, " Consider the lilies of 
the field, how they grow," etc. There was an appropriate- 
ness in the subject, for he was come to take leave of his 
family and friends, and to ask that they would commend 
to the care of God's ever-present and gracious providence 
one, who was parting from kith and kin, that he might go 
far away to declare to the heathen the unsearchable riches 
of Christ. 

The circumstances connected with his call to foreign 
service were the following. In the second year in which 
he was fulfilling his student-life, the two congregational 
churches in Edinburgh invited the Rev. John Paterson, 
pastor of a church at Cambuslang, to go forth as a mission- 
ary-agent at their expense. A like summons was given to 
his intimate friend, the Rev. Archibald McLaey, pastor at 
Kircaldy ; and the two, having resigned their charges, came 
to Edinburgh for a brief course of study in preparation for 
the special work which they had in view. On due con- 
sideration, it was judged undesirable, as Mr. McLaey had 
a wife and family, that he should be sent so far, and to so 
trying a climate as India. His destination was accordingly 
changed, and he sailed for New York. Remembering that 
the disciples were sent out two and two, Mr. Paterson's 
friends urged him to look out, among the Seminary-students, 
for some suitable colleague. " In the discharge of this 
delicate duty/' writes his biographer, " he was guided to 
the selection of Mr. Ebenezer Henderson, then a young 
man of 21 years of age, and with whom he had no previous 



EDINBURGH. 37 

acquaintance, but whose 'fine, manly countenance, good 
figure, healthy appearance, and a forehead which indicated 
no want of talent,' led his sagacious observer to say, as he 
surveyed the assembled class, s That is the man for me.' 
This choice the experience of after years tended only more 
and more fully to ratify and approve."* 

On communication with the party thus selected, a cordial 
concurrence was obtained. Mr. Henderson, since his tour 
in the Orkneys, had entertained an idea that perhaps in 
that locality he was to find his future post of duty ; but he 
was in the posture of one waiting to know his Master's will. 
Referring to this, some twelve years later, he expressed 
himself thus : — 

" When I originally devoted myself to the Redeemer's service, and 
entered on a course of study preparatory to engaging in it, I had no 
specific station or sphere of labour in view ; but was determined, in 
reliance on His promised grace, cheerfully to proceed to whatever 
place He should be pleased to point out to me, whether at home in 
my native country, or among the heathen in a distant land. Accord- 
ingly, when our dear brother Paterson requested me to accompany 
him to India, it was a matter of no great difficulty for me to give my 
consent to his proposal." 

As soon as he made known his willingness to embark in 
the cause, the proffer of his services was accepted. The 
two friends, between whom a bond of union had thus been 
formed, were brothers for life. Further acquaintance only 
served to strengthen the attachment on either hand. Never 
did a discord, or a jealousy, arise to ruffle the even tenour 
of their mutual affection. Theirs was such another friend- 
ship as that of a Hamilton and an Ely, of which the 
survivor could say in his peculiar sententious style, <e Years 
only strengthened it. There was not a momentary dis- 

* Rev. Dr. W. L. Alexander's Prefatory Memoir to " The Book for 
every Land," p. xvi. 



38 EARLY LIFE. 

turbance. It was never broken by an interval of coolness. 
The very enamel was without a flaw."* The history of 
their joint-labours has been brought so recently before the 
public in Dr. Paterson's autobiography, that care must be 
taken not needlessly to repeat in these pages what has been 
there detailed. " The Book for every Land" — so its title 
runs — bears manifest traces of its author's character, and 
illustrates how fittingly it was once said of him by a 
fellow-minister, " His face shines like the face of Moses, 
but he does not seem to know it." 

At an evening-service in the Tabernacle, Leith Walk, on 
August 27, 1805, the missionaries-elect were set apart by 
the imposition of hands, with prayer and fasting. The 
next day a letter of Christian commendation was given to 
each, signed by five ministerial brethren. Several friends 
went on board the vessel, when they embarked ; and at 
parting, prayer was offered by an Episcopalian clergyman. 
"A very interesting time it was," writes one; — "we felt 
as if we should see their faces no more." 

* Memoir of the Rev. John Ely, p. xviii. 



CHAPTER II. 

First Journey. (1805—1810.) 

" L'liomme propose ; Dieu dispose." 

Few proverbs are so literally translateable into so many 
languages as that whereby men often carelessly, but never 
causelessly, own their entire dependence on the sovereign 
will and working of their Divine Creator. The travellers 
who were regarded as going forth on a life-long mission, 
were to return once and again to gladden the hearts of 
their friends. Bound for Asia, they were detained in 
Europe. Appointed by their brethren to service in the 
East, they found that a higher hand indicated their sphere 
of action in the North. 

Surat was the station at which the churches had de- 
signed to employ them. Not thither, however, could they 
proceed direct. England, in making herself mistress of 
Hindostan, had not weighed her responsibility to the 
Hindoo. In this respect other nations had been actuated 
by more Christian views. Portuguese princes, when they 
opened the communication with India, were fired with 
Propagandist zeal, and a Xavier's name tells of earnest 
effort for the conversion of idolaters. The Dutch East 
India Company established a seminary for the training of 
missionaries ; at its head they placed Wallaeus of Ghent ; 



40 FIRST JOURNEY. 

and, iii the course of only a few years, twelve preachers 
were sent out by them for the enlightenment of deluded 
Buddhists. In 1705, King Frederick IV. of Denmark, 
organized a " Royal Missionary Society/' Tranquebar and 
Tanjore being thereby blessed with the devoted and 
successful labours of a Ziegenbalg, and a Schwartz. But, 
at the commencement of the present century, no such 
scheme had found favour, or even toleration, among the 
Directors who swayed their sceptre in Leadenhall Street. 
Other nations had professed and had purposed much, 
though they had accomplished comparatively little. Britain 
had done nothing, and was glorying in her shame. Her 
East India Company had full power to prevent any whom 
they pleased from entering their territories ; and the 
charter which accorded this privilege had not become a 
dead letter. Messrs. Carey and Marshman, indeed, had 
settled down at Serampore, and were unmolested; but 
they had gone forward with caution, and had commenced 
by embarking in commercial enterprises that served for a 
time to draw off attention from the main object which 
they had at heart. Coadjutors had been sent out with the 
sole purpose of re-inforcing the mission ; but local autho- 
rity had not yet interfered. Were the increasing labours 
of the missionaries unknown ? or were their evangelizing 
efforts consciously allowed? The Messrs. Haldane re- 
solved to put this matter to the test. They openly sought 
the sanction of the Directors to their going out with a 
choice band of colleagues to promote the evangelization of 
the heathen in India. Their petition met with a decided 
negative, and the door was thus closed on their intended 
enterprise. All that could be done was for other agents 
to go forth without leave asked, and to gain a footing if 
they could. Fine and imprisonment were risked; but 



LEITH. 41 

what were these that they should be laid in the balance, 
when there were souls perishing for lack of knowledge, 
and the Saviour's last command remaining to be fulfilled ? 
The British possessions were not approachable by a Chris- 
tian missionary in a British vessel. But there were 
Danish ships, in which such men could embark; there 
were Danish settlements, where they could effect a landing, 
and whence they could proceed to some neighbouring 
district, whose governors might be disposed, if not to 
sanction, at least to ignore the efforts that might be made. 

To Copenhagen, accordingly, Messrs. Paterson and 
Henderson were instructed to repair, in the expectation 
that they would be able immediately to secure a passage 
to Serampore, whither they were to convey letters of intro- 
duction written by the Rev. A. Fuller, who was then on a 
visit to Scotland. Their arrival in the Danish metropolis, 
and the circumstances of their voyage, are detailed in a 
joint letter, which appeared in the "Missionary Magazine" 
for October 21, 1805. 

The " Fame " having left the Leith roads, on the even- 
ing of August 29, with other vessels under convoy of a 
frigate, proceeded on her course with breezes for the most 
part favourable. From the captain, they experienced the 
utmost kindness, and by his permission held daily service, 
morning and evening, for reading, exposition, and prayer. 
They spent two Sundays on board, and were able to preach 
three times. They distributed tracts among the sailors, 
and entered into frequent conversation with them. On 
Saturday the 31st, they accompanied the captain on board 
one of the other ships, gave tracts to the men, and received 
invitation to renew their visit, which they did on the 
Monday, when opportunity was granted them of addressing 
the crew. On the night intervening between September 



42 FIRST JOURNEY. 

5th and 6th, they were separated from the rest of the 
fleet, and at break of day found themselves alone near the 
Norwegian coast. Steering W. S. W., they endeavoured to 
regain their comrades, but did not succeed in falling in 
with them till the end of the voyage. Happily they were 
preserved from all molestation, though another of the 
vessels, having like theirs parted company from the rest, 
was pursued by a Dutch privateer, and narrowly escaped 
capture. 

Landing at Elsineur on Friday the 13th, they availed 
themselves of an introduction given them by the captain, 
and met with a kind reception from the Danish merchant. 
"A clerk of his," they write on the Tuesday following, 
" a native of Norway, who understands the English 
language, was particularly attentive to us. Some years 
ago having gone to London to acquire the language with 
which he was utterly unacquainted at that time, and con- 
sequently knowing something of the heart of a stranger, 
and being naturally an amiable young man, we found in 
him an aiFectionate friend. We gave him some tracts for 
his own use, and to disperse among such of his friends as 
could read them." In this brief record, we have a fore- 
shadowing of their after-course. Wherever they went, they 
were ready to " sow beside all waters." Wherever they 
went, friends were raised up to encourage their hopes and 
to strengthen their hands. 

The day following, they proceeded by coach to Copen- 
hagen; and from Mr. Dickie, a Scotch gentleman to 
whom friends in Edinburgh had announced their intended 
arrival, they met with seasonable kindness. Their first 
Sabbath was marked by an unlooked-for privation of the 
means of grace. The English residents in the city, though 
numerous, had at that time no weekly service in their 



COPENHAGEN. 



43 



own language • and the Danish was to these new-comers 
as yet an unknown tongue. Feeling it a duty not to absent 
themselves from the public assembly, they attended more 
than one of the largest churches, but observed everywhere 
a lamentable torpor and deadness, which convinced them 
that the Gospel was not made known in its plenitude. 
To those accustomed to the proprieties of a Scottish 
Sabbath, the open profanation of the holy day was a great 
and a grievous surprise. They consulted together as to 
what it might be in their power to do ; and in the above- 
mentioned letter of September 17, they thus express their 
determination : — 

"We earnestly wish to have an opportunity of being useful 
during the short time we are to be here ; but what means to use, in 
order to attain this, we are quite uncertain. . . . We have already 
given away a few tracts, and have the prospect of distributing a 
number more. We have been making enquiry about the probable 
expense of having a tract published in the Danish language ; and 
we hope this will be obtained at a moderate expense, which we 
have no doubt our friends at home will cheerfully defray. Thus, 
though our hearts be as much as ever fixed on preaching the 
Gospel to the poor Hindoos in India, we conceive it our duty to be 
missionaries wherever the Lord is pleased to cast our lot, however 
short our stay in that particular place may be. In this way it was 
that the Gospel was introduced at Ephesus by Paul, while he tarried 
there a few days in his way from Corinth to Jerusalem (Acts xviii. 
18 — 23). In like manner it was introduced at Athens, while Paul 
tarried there a few days for his brethren (chapter xvii. 16 — 34). 
May the Lord make our stay here productive of like good to the 
souls of men." 

Not an idle day had been suffered to elapse. So soon 
as they saw the need of exertion on their part, they hastened 
to put it forth. Before another Sunday had come round, 
they had secured the offer of a private house for English 
worship; and when the day arrived, they had a small 
but attentive audience. Mr. Paterson, having preached 



44 



FIRST JOURNEY. 



on that occasion, announced that Mr. Henderson would 
take the service on the Sabbath following. 

As day succeeded day, they increasingly saw the urgent 
necessity that the spiritual wants of Denmark should no 
longer be neglected. Into that land the Christian religion 
had been brought, in the ninth century, by Ansgar, the 
Apostle of the North; and it had become the national 
religion in the time and under the patronage of Canute. 
The Reformation, favoured by Christian II., and fostered 
by Frederick his successor, had been fully established 
under Christian III. But the religion of the majority 
was now nothing more than an empty form of godliness. 
The pulpits were occupied by men who, when weary of 
discoursing on the moral virtues, would hold forth on the 
most approved or most economical modes of agriculture. 
As a natural consequence, the sanctuaries which might 
have held thousands, contained but a few dozen worship- 
pers. German Rationalism had diffused itself like a poison 
among jthe learned, and the infidel principles of the French 
had spread among the multitude. 

To meet the existing state of things, the only step that 
could at once be taken was the immediate preparation of 
a tract. The "One Thing Needful/' by the Rev. Mr. 
Morrison of Sligo, was placed in the hands of a competent 
and reliable translator ; and, having been put to press, it 
was forthwith set in active circulation. Repairing to the 
Royal Gardens, which, as a public promenade, attracted 
at all hours a concourse of visitors, Messrs. Paterson and 
Henderson began by presenting a tract to all who were 
willing to accept the gift. " Vser saa god" — (be so good) 
— was their formulary of introduction to the stranger. 
i( Koster naething" — (it costs nothing) — was the imper- 
fect but well-understood phrase, whereby they assured the 



COPENHAGEN. 45 

poor that they need not hesitate to receive what was freely 
offered. 

In the mean while, they were not oblivious of the 
mission on which they had been sent out. They were 
making every exertion to secure a passage to the East. 
One vessel, and one only, was to sail that season ; and 
every berth was pre-engaged. They offered to go in the 
steerage ; even that was full. They proposed to sleep on 
deck; but this was positively refused. On Oct. 15th they 
received the decisive assurance that they could not by any 
possibility leave Denmark till the sailing of the spring 
ships. Thus necessitated to abide where they were, they 
became reconciled to the disappointment, when they 
realized the wide field of usefulness that lay open before 
them. They transferred their place of preaching from a 
private house to an auction-room ; and the latter, like the 
former, was granted them free of charge. Early in 
November they had secured the translation and printing 
of 1000 copies of the ee Great Question Answered." 

The efforts they made had already attracted consider- 
able notice. A Copenhagen newspaper put forth a state- 
ment to the effect that they had il preached with very 
great applause," as well as " translated and printed 2000 
copies of a religious tract, which they were giving away 
gratis," and that they were (i men of irreproachable 
character." Much curiosity was excited as to their 
motives. Some looked upon them with suspicion, and 
gave out that they must be confederates of a Norwegian, 
who was then suffering imprisonment in Copenhagen 
for his efforts to do good. The few who were ready 
to sympathize, — the little band who, in secret, were 
earnest though cautious promoters of the truth, — the 
zealous-hearted, forty in number, who had for five or 



46 FIRST JOURNEY. 

six years past been associated as the " Evangelical Society 
of Fiinen," and who had not only issued a quarterly 
Magazine, but printed a considerable number of tracts, 
some original and some translated, — these Christian 
brethren held aloof as yet, uncertain whether to trust or 
to distrust. It is not surprising that such should have 
been the case, since the mere lending of an Evangelical 
Magazine, which contained a letter from the Rev. Mr. 
Boesen of Faaborg,* had caused that excellent clergyman 
to be misrepresented as carrying on correspondence with 
foreign countries. Mr. Hammerich, however, a pious 
Moravian, who had heard what these foreigners were 
doing, watched them for a season, and at length volun- 
teered a call which issued in a warm and continued friend- 
ship. A letter, received through the intervention of the 
Rev. John Campbell of Kingsland, introduced them to 
the Justiciary (afterwards State Counsellor) Thorkelin,f 
and through him to Bishop Balle,{ as also to the Rev. 

* In Funen. He was afterwards settled at Wordinborg, in the south, 
of Zealand. 

f Etatsraad Grim Jonsen Thorkelin (Dr. J. V., Knight of the Dane- 
brog, and Keeper of the State-paper Office), chiefly known as the trans- 
lator of an Anglo-Saxon poem in the Cottonian Library of the British 
Museum : " De Danorum Rebus Gestis, Secul. iii. andiv. PoemaDanicum 
Dialecto Anglo-Saxonica," etc. Havniae, 1815, 4to. 

% The Right Rev. Dr. Nicolay Edinger Balle, Bishop of Zealand, 
author of a Commentary on St. Paul's Lesser Epistles ; a series of excel- 
lent Biblical Lectures ; a Guide to Church-history ; and other works 
highly esteemed by his countrymen. (See Dansk Litteratur Tidende for 
1816, pp. 636 — 642). His sermons, preached before the Court, and dedi- 
cated to Queen Juliana Maria, were published in several volumes. A 
few of the discourses were selected and translated into English in the 
year 1819. His translator styles him "the great ornament and pillar of 
the Danish church." In doctrine, the sermons are orthodox, according 
to 'the tenets of the Lutherans; in spirit, they are excellent; in style, 
they would probably read better in the native freedom of the original. 
They can by no means compete with the standard pulpit-productions of 
our land and our times ; yet they impress the earnest reader with the 



ELSINEUR. 4 i 

Dr. Miinter,* who afterwards succeeded to the episcopate 
of Zealand. These were acquaintanceships, not honour- 
able only, but highly serviceable. 

Through evil report and through good report, the two 
labourers steadfastly held on their way. Their tracts were 
well received, and eagerly read. Their congregation 
increased ; and they determined to establish a preaching 
station for the English residents at Elsineur. For the 
first few weeks the hearers were not above twelve in 
number; and when, on the first Sabbath of the new year, 
there were only seven in attendance, despondency took 
the place where hope had ruled. A mournful conference 
was held. Fearing lest there had been some remissness 
in fervency of prayer, it was resolved to set apart certain 
nights on which both should join to plead that a spirit of 
hearing might be outpoured in that careless, lifeless neigh- 
bourhood. The answer to their prayer was not delayed. 
On Sunday, the 12th, there were not seats enough for 
those who attended;' and on the 19th, when the weather 
was so stormy that it was thought none would be present, 
there were fifty assembled; of whom, moreover, only 
three were females, though such had until then formed 
the larger part of the audience. f From that time forward 
the work went on encouragingly. Something was gained 

wish that all Denmark's clergy in that day had been at least as evangeli- 
cal and as devout as was their ecclesiastical leader. The worthy Bishop 
died in the year 1816, some years after his retirement from office. 

* The Right Rev. Frederic Christian Charles Henry Miinter was a 
diligent, able, and illustrious scholar. His " Danske Reformations- 
historie," and other works of a like nature, have placed him on the list of 
ecclesiastical historians ; his treatise on the Danish orders of Knighthood 
proves his interest in heraldic lore ; his essays on the Cuneiform inscrip- 
tions at Persepolis, and on many kindred topics of antiquarian interest, 
evince the absorbing delight which he took in the relics of bygone cen- 
turies and of vanished sceptres. 

f Missionary Magazine, vol. xi. (1806), p. 272. 



48 



FIRST JOURNEY. 



when there was a willingness to hear, hut this was not 
esteemed sufficient. Hence the report sent home : — 

Copenhagen, Feb. 22, 1806. 

" I have nothing- very particular to notice in regard to our con- 
gregation here. It is still as good as usual. There does not yet 
appear any visible fruit attending our labours. None have yet put 
the interesting question to us, " What shall I do to be saved ?" We 
do not, however, despair. It is our duty to go forward, exhibiting 
the Divine testimony, calling our hearers to repentance and faith in 
our Lord Jesus Christ, and humbly looking up to the Lord for the 
blessing of His Holy Spirit on our endeavours to glorify His name. 
It is good that we should both hope and wait for the salvation of 
the Lord. He who supported the minds of the brethren in Green- 
land under the most discouraging circumstances for fifteen years, 
can support us. He who appeared on their behalf can also appear 
on ours, and will when His own time comes. The first symptom 
of good I conceive will be, attention to the Divine oracles. At 
present they are laid aside like a piece of useless lumber. Such 
families as have a Bible give themselves no concern about it, and 
the number that want it is great indeed."* 

But in a few months' time, Mr. Henderson writes from 

Elsineur : — 

April 12, 1806. 
"... Several of our hearers in both places begin to think ; — the 
great matter is, if they be brought to think aright. This is the 
Lord's work. May He give them on the behalf of Christ the per- 
ception of that truth which flesh and blood cannot reveal."t . • • 

The date of the latter extract calls for explanation as to 
how it came to pass that the voyage to India was still in 
abeyance. Through the winter they had been writing 
home, and earnestly entreating that so important a sphere 
should not be left unoccupied, but that other labourers 
should be in readiness to take their place by the time they 
must embark for Serampore. In response they received a 
letter, dated Dec. 25, 1805, stating that to send them on 

* Missionary Magazine, vol. xi. (1806), pp. 164, 165. f Ibid. p. 207. 



ELSINEUR. 49 

to India, and appoint others to occupy the field in Denmark, 
was a greater expense than the friends in Edinburgh could 
at that time feel it right to incur, and urging that if they 
saw no decided reason to the contrary, they would consent 
to remain in a position where, even in a missionary point 
of view, they might labour as effectively and as beneficially 
as in China or elsewhere. To this, each replied in a simi- 
lar strain. Mr. Henderson's answer, thus worded, illus- 
trates his habitual readiness to go or to stay at his Master's 
bidding : — 

Elsineur, Jan. 18. 1806. 

" Dear Brethren, — I am deeply convinced of the force of the 
observations communicated in your letter of the 25th ult. Our deten- 
tion in this country at the first appeared evidently to be of the Lord. 
Since the commencement of our exertions for promoting the interests 
of the Redeemer's kingdom on the Continent, I fondly hoped that 
brethren would be found to supply our stations in the spring, when 
(as we then expected) we should sail for India. With joy I antici- 
pated the fruits that would be produced by their labours, and earn- 
estly prayed that our small beginning might issue in the extension 
of the unadulterated gospel of our Lord in this part of the world. 
Previous to the reception of your letter, I conceived that it would 
not be our duty to leave our present stations unoccupied ; but then 
I had no doubt of some being found to supply our lack of service 
here. This, you say, is not at present attainable, and therefore I 
cheerfully comply with your request to tarry here, at least for a 
season. When, however, our proceeding to India shall appear as 
manifestly the will of our heavenly Father, as at present our re- 
maining here does, I trust I shall as cheerfully go there. I feel my 
mind as much intent upon the primary object we had in view when 
we left Scotland as it was then, and till within these few days I 
had the fullest expectation of leaving Denmark soon. But since the 
Lord has ordered matters otherwise, it becomes us to submit to His 
blessed will. How wonderful are His judgments, and His ways are 
past finding out! As you justly observe, ' He leads the blind by a 
way which they know not.' How strikingly is this Divine truth 
exemplified in our case. Surely we have much reason to bless the 
name of our God, and look to Him with humble submission, saying, 
' Lord, lead us in the way that we should go.' .... 

E 



50 FIRST JOURNEY. 

" Thus I have given you my mind with regard to our present 
situation, I trust that you cease not to pray for us, that we may 
be kept from falling, and be zealous and useful labourers in the 
vineyard of the Lord. With love to all the brethren, I remain your's 
affectionately for Jesus' sake, 

"Eben. Henderson."* 

The chief anxiety which this change of plan had 
occasioned, arose from a fear lest the abandonment of 
their original design should prove a stumbling-block to 
their English hearers, and re-awaken the distrust of the 
pious Danes. They could hardly expect that either of 
these parties would be prepared to regard a nominally 
Christian land as a sphere equally important with a land 
of heathens. They explained the matter, however, in a 
straightforward way, and were glad to find that the de- 
plorable condition of the country was freely admitted on all 
hands. So far from regretting or blaming their prolonged 
stay, every one who had befriended them, seemed deter- 
mined to lend them a yet more efficient aid. In Copen- 
hagen, arrangements were made for an evening as well as 
a morning service ; and at Elsineur leave was obtained to 
use the English chapel, where a clergyman had once been 
used to officiate, but which had for a long while been 
closed. Up to this date the two preachers had exchanged 
on alternate Sundays ; but it was now resolved that Mr. 
Paterson should stay in Copenhagen, and Mr. Henderson 
in Elsineur, since much time was lost, as well as needless 
expense incurred, in going to and fro. 

From Messrs. Goode, Clark, Fife, and many other friends 
at Elsineur, Mr. Henderson received the greatest kindness. 
He found the charge to be in the summer a fluctuating, but 
very important one. The arrival of a fleet would some- 

* Missionary Magazine, 1806, p. 289. 



ELSINEUR. 51 

times draw off the greater part of his congregation to attend 
to necessary business, entailed by its approach ; while the 
occasional detention of a fleet would not only fill his chapel 
with seamen, but give him abundant opportunity of dis- 
tributing tracts among the sailors. When he found any 
who were unable to read, or could read but imperfectly, he 
would take their instruction in hand; and in so doing, he 
did not neglect to ascertain how far they understood the 
import of the words. " Do you know what that word 
( malefactor' means?" he asked of one, that was spelling 
out a chapter in the Gospels. " Oh ! sure I do, Sir ; it 
means them as make cotton-goods for the market." The 
incident is in itself a simple one, to which every Sunday- 
school-teacher might easily furnish a parallel ; but it is 
interesting as it evinces the minute care which the 
preacher was ready to bestow on the humblest isolated 
and temporary member of his little congregation. 

Such was not the only kind of tuition in which he 
was engaged. In the month of April, Mr. Paterson had 
written to Scotland as follows :- — 

" We have been applied to by some people here, and also at Elsi- 
neur. to take their children to teach them the English language. 
Mr. Henderson would have begun before this time at Elsineur, but 
we wished to write to you first to know what you thought of the 
matter. The only objection we have to it is, that it will take up 
our time, which is so necessary at present to have, for the purpose 
of acquiring a knowledge of the Danish, German, and French lan- 
guages. Yet in Elsineur in particular it seems to be wanted and 
necessary, in order to give us access to the families of some of the 
leading people. And it is of so much importance to have an oppor- 
tunity of instilling the first principles of religion into the young, I 
am of opinion that we ought to attempt it. This will also partly 
lessen our expense to our friends ; and if necessary, I am persuaded 
we might have as much teaching as would wholly support ourselves 
at least, and so put it in the power of our friends to extend their 
influence much further than they otherwise could do. Some of you 



52 FIRST JOURNEY. 

trill write us immediately on the receipt of this, what you would 
advise as to this matter. Your's affectionately, 

" John Paterson."* 

The motive which had prompted the request was appre- 
ciated. Confidence was felt that the plan would work 
well in the hands of men who were not seeking to enrich 
themselves, but to relieve others of a burden ; and the per- 
mission sought was therefore readily granted. In private 
families and in classes, the young English tutor at Elsineur 
found abundance of occupation ; while such hours of study 
as were not needed for pulpit preparation, were sedulously 
devoted to the acquirement of those foreign languages, 
which, when once mastered, would greatly tend to enlarge 
the circle of his influence. 

That circle he was always ready to widen, never to cir- 
cumscribe. His eye rested wistfully on the horizon around 
him. As he wended his way from time to time for a soli- 
tary ramble, he might be seen occasionally in Hamlet's 
Garden, viewing the peaceful scene that lies outstretched 
beneath the elevation. Neither Kronberg Castle, with its 
frowning towers, andits gloomy reminiscences of imprisoned 
royalty, nor the guard-ship immediately below, with its 
national ensign commanding the passage of the strait, and 
telling of Denmark's recognised claim to the Sound dues, 
could so engross his attention as to debar his earnest gaze 
from resting on the plains of Skonen, and tracing the line 
of gently undulated hills whose low range stretches along 
in the horizon as it leads the eye onward from Helsingburgh 
toward the more rugged promontory of Kuhl. From the 
land itself, his thoughts turned to them that dwelt therein. 
He and his companion took means to gain satisfactory 

* Missionary Magazine, vol. xi. (1806), p. 206. 



ELSINEUR. 53 

information concerning the spiritual condition of Sweden. 
Letters were sent from Copenhagen to Professor Hylander* 
of Lund, and from Elsineur to the Rev. L. C. Retzius 
of Storeberg. Replies were obtained, couched in terms 
of true Christian brotherhood, but so worded as to prove 
beyond a doubt that much yet remained to be done. Gus- 
tavus Vasa, indeed, had rescued the kingdom from the 
darkness of papal superstition, but in the time of Gustavus 
IV. it was found to be suffering from the intimacy which 
his predecessor had maintained with the infidel court of 
Frederick the Great of Prussia, " The Swedish Zion lay 
in ruins ;" yet there were not wanting those who with 
tearful eye surveyed the desolation by night, and with 
diligent hand sought to repair it by day. By such men, 
the aid of Christians from Britain was eagerly hailed ; and 
by the latter, the opportunity of extended usefulness was 
readily embraced. " We have determined," wrote Mr. 
Retzius, — it was the first letter he had penned in English 
for thirty years — " to print and distribute among our 
hearers some little edifying treatises. We have a copious- 
ness of such tracts for the awakened, but for those who are 
spiritually asleep it fails us." To encourage him in the 
design, he was promised fifty rix-dollars (Swedish currency) 
or about £10 English. f 

" We have perhaps done more" (wrote Mr. Paterson) " than we 
ought to have done without consulting our friends. Solomon's ad- 
vice, 'Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might, 
left us no room to hesitate as to our duty in this matter. Here was 
opportunity for doing something considerable for the kingdom of our 
Lord at a trifling expense, and probably by the blessing of God 
giving a beginning to a plan which may carry the glorious gospel 
of the blessed God to millions in that country."! 

*The Rev. Anders Hylander, D.D., Regius Professor of Divinity, 
t The Book for every Land, pp. 16—19. % Missionary Mag. 1806, p. 299. 



54 FIRST JOURNEY. 

It is interesting to observe how those who had forborne to 
move without authority when their private interest was in 
part or seemingly concerned, ventured to act promptly, 
and on their own responsibility, when the spread of the 
gospel called for immediate aid. Zeal was attempered with 
caution, while yet prudence was animated with fervour. 
Their reliance on the generosity of their friends was not 
misplaced. The step they had taken met with full ap- 
proval, and the sum they had pledged was forwarded to 
them for transmission. 

Nor was personal effort lacking. Mr. Henderson, 
availing himself of the ferry, repaired to Helsingburgh 
with a supply of religious publications. The " salutation," 
implied in the name both of the port he left and the port he 
visited, he sought to render in his case an act of Christian 
greeting. In the ensuing month of June, he accompanied 
his colleague on a tour through Skonen, leaving tracts at 
Lund and Malmo, in the hands of such as were likely to 
translate them into Swedish. 

Remembering that Denmark had the first claim to their 
attention, they determined to extend their researches in 
that quarter ; and in August they accordingly took their 
first journey towards Schleswig. So far as possible they 
travelled on foot, and the first day they succeeded in 
accomplishing thirty miles. Crossing the Great Belt to 
Odense, they called on Dean Boesen, received from him a 
cordial welcome, and beneath his roof were delighted to 
meet his brother, the Faaborg clergyman, with whom they 
had in vain sought to open a correspondence, but whose 
doubts they had now the means of clearing away by a 
personal interview, which enabled a full, free intercom- 
munication of thought and feeling, purposes and plans. 
<H (pi\uBe\(pca /leveTiv was Mr. Boesen's favourite motto, re- 



ODENSE. 55 

curring oftentimes in his letters to England ; and what he 
expressed with his pen, he evinced in his life ; his brotherly 
love, when once kindled, burned a pure and constant flame. 
At Haarsleu, they also met the Rev. Mr. Balsler, already 
known to them by name, and with him likewise they held 
a season of refreshing intercourse. Proceeding across the 
Little Belt, they directed their course toward the Moravian 
settlement at Christiansfeld; and after a week's sojourn in 
this quiet retreat, they hastened back with fresh spirit for 
their work. 

Their journey was fraught with no unimportant results. 
It was the first link in the chain that connected them 
personally with the British and Foreign Bible Society. 
The Boesens informed them that the Fiinen Evangelical 
Society was purposing to print 2000 copies of the New 
Testament for their long- neglected fellow-subjects in 
Iceland. From the Justiciary Thorkelin, a native of that 
island, they had already learned how intelligent were its 
inhabitants, and how grievous their destitution of the 
best of books, — only forty or fifty copies being found 
among a population of not much short of 50,000. They 
had already transmitted to Scotland a report upon the 
matter, and could not fail to be struck with the coincidence 
of plans between themselves and the Zealand clergymen. 
Feeling, however, that the latter were not about to embark 
on an undertaking adequate to meet the exigencies of the 
case, they ventured to suggest that five, instead of two, 
should be the number of thousands struck off for the first 
instalment. The proposal was on too startlingly large a 
scale for the finances of a feeble society, in a comparatively 
feeble kingdom. The rich in Denmark were few, and none 
of them had yet come forward as favourers of the Bible- 
cause. It was determined that assistance should be sought 



56 



FIRST JOURNEY. 



from London ; and on returning to the post of action, no 
time was lost in writing direct to the friends of the Bible 
Society. Their appeal came not as something new. The 
way had, unknown to them, been paved by their corre- 
spondents in Scotland ; and the Bible Society had already 
sent an intimation through their President, Lord Teign- 
mouth, to the Bishop of Iceland, expressive of their willing- 
ness to bear the moiety of expenses needful for the printing 
of 5000 New Testaments, 8vo. On receiving the applica- 
tion which was now made directly from abroad, and on thus 
learning more precisely what was being done, and what 
was required, the committee amended their resolution, and 
agreed to defray the cost of 3000 copies, if the Funen Society 
would charge themselves with the remaining 2000.* 

The earlier of the letters sent home on the subject of 
Iceland had referred to the need of tracts, in the language 
spoken by its inhabitants. This statement had been for- 
warded to the Religious Tract Society, who readily pro- 
moted the object, and 5000 copies of the "Scripture 
Extracts," No. 67 on their list, were immediately put in 
hand. As these several labours had to be carried on in 
Copenhagen, they fell, for the present, to Mr. Paterson's 
department, who, naturally gifted with an excellent turn 
for business, was better adapted than his colleague to take 
the lead in the first effort of the kind committed to their 
charge. 

Mr. Henderson spent his second winter at Elsineur, 
diligently persevering in his ministerial labours, his work 
of tuition, and his linguistic studies. A Sabbath-evening 
service was conducted by him for the Danes, now that he 
had attained the power of intelligibly giving an address in 

* Owen's Hist, of the Bible Society, vol. i. pp. 241—248. 



HVEEN. 57 

their language. It was probably about this time that he 
translated into Danish the Memoir of Mr. James Haldane's 
daughter, Catherine. It was " rather popular in Denmark, 
where the name, which is common in that country, was an 
attraction,"* 

Neither in Copenhagen, nor in Elsineur, was the preach- 
ing attended by any marked results. In the latter place, 
there was much of a worldly atmosphere, that impeded the 
rising of devotion's flame ; — many thorns there were of 
worldly anxiety, that choked the good seed as it feebly 
struggled into spiritual life. " In consequence of an un- 
remitting influx of strangers from all parts of the busy 
world, most of whom had no other object in view than the 
acquisition of earthly riches, that town used to present a 
melancholy spectacle of indifference to the momentous con- 
cerns of religion/'f Dr. Paterson, when reviewing this 
period, writes : " The people's kindness to us was great, — I 
had almost said, unbounded; but we had too much reason 
to complain that they showed us more kindness than they 
showed to our Lord and Master. "$ 

Among the invitations received, while resident at Elsi- 
neur, was one (from a relative of the Pretender) which took 
Mr. Henderson to the island of Hveen, well known as the 
residence of the celebrated Tycho Brahe, but on which 
scarcely a vestige of the Uranienborg observatory could be 
traced. It was while on this island, that, as preacher at 
the Elsineur chapel, he was requested to administer baptism 
to three children, none of whom had yet received the rite. 
The request was one which, in all faithfulness, had to be 
declined. Had there been no other obstacles in the case, 
the fact that the mother was a Jewess would have been 

* Mem. of R. and J. A. Haldane, 2nd Edit. p. 308. 

f Henderson's Iceland, vol. i. p. 5. % Book for every Land, p. 27, 



58 FIRST JOURNEY. 

enough to prove a barrier. The anecdote is here preserved 
in remembrance of the strong view, which the subject of 
this Memoir entertained on the question of infant-baptism, 
— regarding it as properly administrate, only when the 
parents or guardians make credible profession of adherence 
to the Christian faith, and avow a determination to train 
their children, or to have them trained, in the knowledge 
and the obedience of the truth as it is in Jesus. 

It was probably at about the same time, that his official 
relation to the English residents at Elsineur was likely to 
involve him in what he would have felt to be a painful 
position. A British tar was implicated, together with a 
Danish sailor, in the murder of one who had been either a 
comrade or an acquaintance of the latter. The men were 
imprisoned, tried, found guilty, and condemned to death. 
Mr. Henderson, as the only officiating English minister, 
was requested to visit his countryman. He called several 
times, and once or twice he entertained the hope that the 
poor man was not altogether hardened, though he saw no 
evidence of repentance toward God, and faith in the Lord 
Jesus. The day of execution approached ; and he was given 
to understand that his presence on the occasion would be 
indispensable. It was a result he had not anticipated; yet 
even had he been previously aware of it, this could not 
have deterred him from an effort to seek the perishing, and 
point him to the only Saviour. The prospect was a fearful 
one. But the appalling scene was spared him. During 
the night, both the convicts effected their escape ; and the 
dire necessity of approaching the scaffold as a witness was 
happily removed. By some it was believed that the flight 
of the prisoners had been connived at by the Government, 
owing to a fear lest any umbrage should be taken by 
England at a political juncture which was felt to be critical. 



ELSINEUR. 59 

Opposite to Uranienborg lay a peaceful shore, which 
was soon to become the landing- place of British soldiery. 
The summer of 1807 was fraught with trouble to the Scan- 
dinavian Chersonesus. The " wars and rumours of wars 5 ' 
that had for many a year agitated the various parts of 
Europe, were far from being lulled to rest. Napoleon I. 
was pushing onward with vigour the conquests which were 
essential to his continental system. The campaign of 
Austerlitz had brought Austria to terms. The twofold victory 
of Jena and Auerstadt had forced the Prussians to succumb. 
The battle of Friedland had induced the Emperor of Russia 
to accept the treaty offered him at Tilsit. It was well 
known that England was not likely to let the balance of 
power be thus destroyed; but, in order to check her resist- 
ance, it was needful that Denmark and Sweden should 
join to exclude her vessels from the Baltic. By a secret 
article in the agreement with France, Russia had agreed 
to further this design, and to secure for Buonaparte the aid 
of the Danish navy. The English cabinet suspected some 
design of the kind, had their notion confirmed by a hint 
from the Prussian Government, and vainly sought for defi- 
nite assurances of amity on the part of the Danes. The 
latter would at that time gladly have remained neuter; but 
this was not to be allowed. Their wish to avoid committing 
themselves with either party, led to what appeared a shuf- 
fling policy ; and John Bull, in his matter-of-fact way, re- 
solved to bring things to a point, by taking immediate 
possession of the fleet which was likely to be enticed or 
impressed into the service of his foe. On the 3rd of August, 
the first division of the British war-squadron arrived in the 
Sound. Peace and conflict lay suspended in the balance, 
and for some days it remained uncertain which scale would 
preponderate. 



60 FIRST JOURNEY. 

It was evident to the two Christian Labourers, that their 
plans were likely to he affected by the changed aspect of 
affairs. In the event of war, it was probable that, as 
Englishmen, they might ere long be sent away, or that if 
their presence were tolerated, they could not but be looked 
upon with a jealousy that might go far to nullify their in- 
fluence. Mr. Henderson was the first to be convinced that 
his position must necessarily be altered. It is easy to 
imagine, that in a lonely walk he would seek to con over 
the possible prospects of the approaching week ; — easy to 
imagine, that on passing some fine old tree, he might pluck 
one of its tapering leaves, with the doubt whether he should 
ever again walk beneath the shelter of its boughs ; — easy 
to imagine, that the thought of quitting a place, in which, 
for the last eighteen months, he had taken so lively an in- 
terest, might suggest the idea of recording the memorable 
day when he was brought so near the turning over of a 
page in his life's history. That dried leaf yet remains, in- 
scribed with many a date of residence ; but the earliest it 
bears is, " Elsineur, August 10, 1807." Two days after 
this, he forwarded a note, urging his friend at Copenhagen 
to join him without delay, that they might proceed, " if 
necessary, to Sweden, and there await the issue of the ne- 
gotiations then pending." Mr. Paterson, unwilling to move 
too hastily, was forced to remain in the town during its 
bombardment by the English, and has left on record* what 
is believed to be the fullest account ever published in our 
language of the havoc and desolation wrought by the fire- 
laden missiles, which the Danes in bitter mockery denomi- 
nated u proofs of English friendship." The concluding of 
an armistice enabled him at length to leave the town, and 
the refusal of the incensed Government to come to an 

* Book for every Land, pp. 29 — 48. 



GOTTENBUXtGH. 61 

accommodation with the English, proved to him that he 
could abide in that country no longer, but must follow the 
example of his friend, and retire into Sweden. 

Mr. Henderson had already taken up his abode at Got- 
tenburgh* which ranks second among the towns of Sweden. 
He had been welcomed there by the British residents, and 
had been allowed the use of the English chapel, which was 
private property, and was destitute of an officiating clergy- 
man. A goodly congregation was speedily gathered, as the 
port was at this time crowded alike with travellers and 
with merchants, who found it their only place of security. 
After consultation with his friend, it was decided that 
he should remain for the present where he was, while 
Mr. Paterson proceeded to Stockholm, in order to organize 
systematic efforts for the circulation of Swedish Bibles 
and tracts, — an enterprise which was to prove eminently 
successful, and of which, in his autobiography, he has 
furnished such ample details. 

The months of February, March, and April, brought 
renewed causes of alarm. Sweden, which determinately 
refused to co-operate with Napoleon, was threatened with 
invasion from the French on the one side, and from the 
Russians on the other. The long-continued frost favoured 
the march of their respective armies across the Sound and 
the Gulf of Bothnia. "We have been wonderfully pre- 
served," wrote Mr. Henderson, as soon as the crisis was 
overpast ; " only a few weeks ago, a way was laid in the 
mighty deep for the march of enemies both from Zealand 
and Finland, and now it is broken in pieces, and their 
project rendered abortive for another season." 

* I adopt the old-fashioned orthography of this word, in order to pre- 
serve consistency, as it will be seen that my father always employed the 
Anglo-phonetic rather than that local and etymological spelling of the 
word which now prevails. 



62 FIRST JOURNEY. 

Nor was this all the goodness he had to acknowledge. 
While the ruthless hand of war closed one door, it opened 
to him another. Driven from Denmark, he found work to 
do even for the Danes in the neighbouring territory. 
Forced to retreat from Danish soil, he found access to the 
Danish prisoners of war. Among them he vigorously dis- 
tributed tracts. For their use he translated the well-known 
narrative of James Covey, so popular among seafaring men. 
On their departure, he rose early in the morning to see 
them off, received their tearful thanks, and had reason to 
hope that to some, at least, among them, their detention 
by the enemy had been the means of liberation from a 
direr captivity.* 

The summer found him travelling in Sweden and Lap- 
land, enquiring into the state of the parishes, and scatter- 
ing the seeds of truth. It was deemed wise that the two 
should go in company, when they sought to break up new 
ground, especially as the travelling expenses of both little 
exceeded the sum which must have been incurred by the 
one. The sanction of their friends at home was duly asked 
and received, ere the enterprise was undertaken ; for they 
never forgot that they were the " messengers of the 
churches." Having reached Stockholm, late on Saturday, 
July 30th, Mr. Henderson preached the next morning for 
his friend, who had established an English service at noon 
every Sabbath, after the dispersing of the congregation in 
the French Reformed Church. Isaiah liv. 13 formed the 
basis of the discourse on this occasion. After a few days 
spent together in the Swedish capital, they started on 
their journey, with 4000 tracts for distribution by the way. 
Several hundreds were left with the numerous labourers in 

* Letter of May 30, 1808. Missionary Magazine, vol. xiii. p. 258. 



DALECARLIA, ETC. 63 

the silver-mines and copper-works of Sala and Avestad. 
In the parishes of Dalecarlia, the tract-distributors were 
almost torn to pieces by the people, not through opposition 
to their proceedings, but through eagerness to obtain the 
unwonted and welcome present they had it in their power 
to bestow. When circumstances allowed, a word of exhor- 
tation accompanied the gift. At the porphyry-works* in 
Elfdal, their arrival was hailed by the overseer, who com- 
plained that no reading of any sort was purchasable by 
the people, save idle songs, some of them so immoral in 
their tendency that it was needful to restrain the sale. At 
Bollnas in Gene, they had opportunity, not only of observ- 
ing the Swedish customs in reference to burial, baptism, 
and catechisation, but also of commending the Bible cause 
to the notice of the clergyman, who promised his aid in 
case a Swedish Bible Society should be formed. 

At Hernosand, they waited on Dr. Nordin, the Bishop, 
who alone had the right of Bible-printing for Swedish 
Lapland. By their sympathy with him on etymological 
questions, they gained a hearing, when they broached the 
subject of their mission, and arranged with him for 5000 
New Testaments to be issued at a cheap rate in behalf of 
the British and Foreign Bible Society, in the event of his 
estimate being approved by them. Going on towards 
Umea, they were astonished in one village to find a parish 
church, and well-built houses, but not a single inhabitant, 
— the parishioners living some ten, twenty, and even forty 
miles off, and having erected these dwellings to serve them 
as a temporary shelter, when they come, laden with a day's 
provisions, to attend the Sabbath-service. One evil con- 
sequence is, that in the after part of the sacred day, public 

* Then in possession of a private company. They became crown- 
property by purchase in the reign of Charles XIV. 



64 FIRST JOURNEY. 

worship gives place to a public fair ; and the worshipper, 
when he leaves the sanctuary, hastens to the market. 
Between Umea and Pitea, they reached the abode of a 
pious clergyman, who was preparing a Lapponese version 
of the Scriptures. At Lulea, they unexpectedly met with 
a fellow-countryman, from the Cambridge University, who 
was returning from Finland, and who kindly gave them 
letters of introduction that might help them on their on- 
ward route. Approaching Kalix, they entered a boat, and 
went seven miles along a small river and a continuity of 
lakes, till they reached some woods, which they penetrated 
in order to visit the huts where a party of Lapps were 
located. With these, they entered into interesting and 
profitable conversation, Swedish being understood by both 
parties. The next day they fell in with Finns, who were 
much surprised to find that they were not only provided 
with Finnish books, but prepared to give them away. 
Tornea, noted as one of the chief salmon-fisheries in Europe, 
terminated their progress northward. 

Entering Finland, it was not long before they heard 
that the Russian army was near at hand ; but doubting 
whether this might not be a false report, they pushed on 
till they were close upon Wasa, the scene of the fearful 
atrocities so ruthlessly perpetrated by General DemidofPs 
soldiery. Learning that the Russians had really succeeded 
in breaking through a pass near Gamle Karlebye, they 
found themselves obliged to turn back, and not only make 
a detour of above 500 miles, but to make it with the utmost 
speed, that they might avoid falling into the hands of the 
pursuing enemy.* To this they reconciled themselves by 

* A friend suggests that lie has heard my father assign as the reason of 
his having to go round the Gulf of Bothnia, that an embargo had been 
laid on all the boats with a view to the transport of the fugitive Swedish 
army. 



SWEDISH PROVINCES. 65 

realizing the opportunity which it furnished them for gain- 
ing a closer insight into the actual religious condition of 
the peasantry who dwelt in the interior. Returning by 
way of Danemora and Upsala, they reached their respective 
stations early in October, after having performed a journey 
of 2300 miles.* The tour had been fatiguing, and not 
without its inconveniences ; but perils and privations were 
easily overlooked. A night spent upon a hard bench with 
a goat-skin pillow, — three days without a dinner, — bark- 
bread, that they were unable to eat, — exposure to cold and 
rain, — a consequent feverish attack, that laid Mr. Hender- 
son prostrate the Sabbath they were at Pi tea, and filled 
his companion with uneasiness on his account, — what were 
these in the esteem of travellers ? and what in the esteem 
of Christian missionary travellers ?f 

The result of this journey was a conviction that more, 
much more, must yet be done to awaken the lifeless, as 
well as to encourage and confirm those who knew and 
loved the truth. In the majority of instances, the readi- 
ness to receive their little books arose evidently from the 
mere love of reading rather than from any love to religion. 
In many parishes there was on an average only one 
Bible in every eighth house, the wealthy and middle classes 
ordinarily possessing a copy, but the cottagers being un- 
provided with the holy volume, and too poor to purchase 
it at the high price it fetched. In most of the pulpits was 
heard an uncertain sound; and in the parishes, there 
existed but little of living and lively piety. There were 
favoured districts, one especially in the neighbourhood of 



* Missionary Magazine, vol. xiii. (1808) p. 511. 

f For full details of the journey, see the "Missionary Magazine," 
vol. xiv. (1809), pp. 325, etc., 373, etc., 418, etc.; and "The Book for every 
Land," pp. 75—96. 

F 



66 FIRST JOURNEY. 

Huddiksval, in which revival had taken place ; and here 
they were able to converse with the enquirer, and to drop 
that " word in season " which is so hope-inspiring to the 
conscience-stricken sinner. Even where the good work 
was already commenced, there could only be growth in 
grace as there was growth in spiritual knowledge ; and 
hence the urgent need for a wider diffusion of the sacred 
oracles, lest earnestness unenlightened should degenerate 
into error, and fervour unguided pave the way for fanati- 
cism. The cause of the Laplanders, Finns, and Swedes, 
was forthwith laid before the Bible Society, who, by a liberal 
grant, promptly afforded the requisite encouragement. 

In subsequent years, there was cause to rejoice in the 
knowledge that this journey had been attended with results 
more immediate and direct : — 

" When Dr. Paterson and I went to Lapland in 1808, we took a 
stock of tracts from Stockholm. There was one place where we 
distributed several hundreds, consisting chiefly of ' The Great Ques- 
tion Answered.' Some years afterward, we learned that a great 
sensation had been produced in the parish by giving away these 
tracts. Inquiry was excited ; and, almost immediately, the saving 
influences of the Holy Spirit were poured out on those who were en- 
gaged in reading them : a concern about the immortal interests of 
their souls became very general among the inhabitants of that parish ; 
the flame which was thus kindled, was communicated from cottage 
to cottage, till all became thirsty for the waters of everlasting life. 
But where were they to find them ? In the parish church ? Alas ! 
the name of Jesus Christ was never mentioned, except in the Liturgy, 
or those parts of the service which had been previously composed. 
Those whose minds were brought, under a serious concern about their 
everlasting interests, found nothing but coldness, analogous to the 
icy and adjacent regions ; they, therefore, met together in a large 
barn, which was opened for the purpose. In the course of a short 
time, there was not an individual in the parish who did not join the 
assembly. A persecution was raised against them, and a commission 
was appointed by government to go down and examine into the 
affair. It was found that nothing took place in this assembly but 
the reading of the Scriptures and the sermons of Luther. What was 



GOTTENBUftGH. 67 

the result ? The clergyman and the band of soldiers were blamed 
for the conduct which they had pursued. At last the clergyman 
thought that he would go and hear one of the sermons read ; and 
although he only went out of curiosity, yet the presence of that 
Supreme Being was there who said to Zaccheus, ' Make haste, and 
come down.' The word reached his heart ; he made confession of 
his former ignorance ; he began to preach the unsearchable riches of 
Christ ; he took his flock back to the church ; and, from that period, 
the doors of the barn were never more opened for such a purpose."* 

The end of 1808, and beginning of 1809, saw Mr. 
Henderson once more engaged in his round of ordinary 
duties. On the Sabbath, his congregation kept up well, 
and he had some little evidence that his preaching was not 
a useless effort. From his sermon-memoranda, it appears 
that he occasionally took up an epistle or chapter, as the 
basis of successive expositions; but he was not wont to 
pursue this system as rigidly as was the custom in his 
native land. The first epistle of the evangelist John, and 
the intercessory prayer of our Lord, were among the 
selected themes ; but the latter was adopted only as a 
subject of fortnightly discourse. There are proofs, also, 
that his sermons, when apparently disconnected, had often 
a uniting link which might be traced by the regular and 
attentive hearer. Thus the text, " Ye are Christ's," was 
followed on the Sabbath ensuing, by " If ye be Christ's, 
then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the 
promise." In like manner the discourse on " If any man 
have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His," was sup- 
plemented by another, on "Where the Spirit of the Lord 
is, there is liberty." 

In the week, his scholars were so numerous, and his 
circle of acquaintance so large, that he found it needful 
to change his lodging, and retire to a village where he 

* Jubilee Memorial of the Religious Tract Society, p. 316. 



68 FIRST JOURNEY. 

could pursue his studies with less interruption from morn- 
ing calls and dinner-invitations, while yet he was within 
reach for all the claims of duty and usefulness. Teaching 
more in classes than by private lessons, he had only eight 
or ten hours of the week thus occupied. Those under his 
tuition were of varied grade and capacity. Among his 
gentlemen-pupils was numbered the subsequent Bishop of 
the Diocese ;* and not a few young Swedish ladies were 
eager to learn the English language, albeit of a Scotchman, 
— one, however, whose retentive memory and facile organs 
of utterance had enabled him already to lose much of his 
native dialect. The broad syllables of Caledonia found an 
effectual corrective in what he often called the "mincing" 
sounds of the Danish ; and, in due time, there was little 
trace of his northern origin to be detected, save in occa- 
sional peculiarities of accentuation, and of idiomatic phrase. 
From the " Royal Scientific and Literary Society " of 
Gottenburgh, he at this time received a document which 
attested his enrolment among its "working members." 
This was the first of his literary privileges and honours. 
His study of the languages was being carried on with 
assiduity. In Hebrew and Greek, he was not only keep- 
ing up what he knew, but was adding to his stock of in- 
formation by a diligent course of reading, as well as in- 
creasing his little library by the purchase of valuable 
Lexicons. His was always a knowledge which was made 
to serve practical purposes: — 

* The Right Rev. C. E. af Wingard, son of the Right Rev. Johann Win- 
gard, D.D. In 1817, he succeeded his father in the episcopate, and very- 
touching were the expressions of his filial affection for his predecessor : 
see the Bible Society's -15th Annual Report (Appendix, pp. 180, 181). 
In 1836, he instituted the Gottenburgh Diocesan Missionary Society. (See 
Evangelical Mag., 1837, p. 100). He was afterwards promoted to the 
Archbishopric of Upsala, and is best known to the English public by 
his "Review of Christendom," translated by C. W. Carlson, London, 1845. 



GOTTENBURGH. 69 

"I found my Hebrew of use in reading Mr. Jaenicke's* letter. 
I would fain hope I shall see the Nearaim (the two young men) here. 
I presume the Cohen-gadol (High-priest) in K — — is charged to 
get them over to Sweden. I shall be happy to render them any 
service." 

In French, lie was reading Voltaire's Charles XII., though 
far enough from foreseeing that he was one day to visit the 
distant scenes of that monarch's fortunes, or rather mis- 
fortunes, in the South. In German, Danish, and Swedish, 
he was also making a sure, while rapid, progress. 

That he was not actuated by the mere love of languages, 
or the mere thirst for literary distinction, appears inciden- 
tally from a letter written in the spring of 1809. The 
document proves also, that he had never yet lost sight of 
the primary object which led him to quit the land of his 
birth. It embodies seven resolutions, which he thus sub- 
mits to Mr. Paterson : — 

" 1. That I am resolved, by the help of God, to pursue, as soon as 
circumstances will permit, my original design of going to the heathen 
for the purpose of making them acquainted with the great and most 
important truths of Divine Revelation. 

" 2. That T shall enter immediately into a correspondence with 
our friends in Edinburgh and London on the subject; at the same 
time stating to them positively that nothing will longer prevent me 
from following out my determination, unless God lay hindrances in 
my way, or open up a door where I could publicly be of very great 
use by remaining longer, and where it appeared clearly to me that 
another, who had no desire of going to the heathen, could not per- 
form the same work. 

" 3. That although I am willing to go where I am most likely to 
be useful, I shall, if possible, seek to come to some part of Hindostan. 
If the present state of politics prevent this, to the island of Mada- 
gascar, the Pelew islands, or any of the islands off the continent of 
Asia ; preferring such places as have hitherto had few European 
residents amongst them. 

* Pastor of the Bohemian congregation, and Tutor of the Missionary 
Institution at Berlin. He died in July, 1827, having just entered his 80th 
year. 



70 FIRST JOURNEY. 

" 4. That although I do not think of leaving the Continent imme- 
diately, yet I shall endeavour, as soon as possible, to have the place 
of my destination fixed, that so 1 might be able to attend to such 
studies as may appear of greatest utility; such as learning the Arabic 
and Persian languages, etc., while I remain on the Continent of 
Europe. 

"5. That if our friends in Scotland find themselves unable to 
bear the expenses of such a mission, or from other circumstances 
decline from engaging in it, I will give myself up to the London 
Missionary Society ; but, if possible, that those they send as fellow- 
labourers be of the same way of thinking with myself." 

" 6. That as the French and German languages may be of much use, 
especially in carrying on a correspondence with missionaries abroad, 
I shall do everything in my power to perfect my acquaintance with 
them. And, 

" Lastly. That I spend much time in prayer for Divine direction 
in this important business." 

His best friends in England and in Scotland concurred, 
in advising him to remain where he was ; and although 
he himself was under the impression that little could be 
done till the restoration of peace, he yielded to their 
unanimous advice. His position, soon after this time, 
became somewhat embarrassing. Dissensions had arisen 
in one of the Edinburgh churches, weakening that spirit 
of holy zeal which thrives best in the pure atmosphere of 
Christian love, and diminishing the resources which had 
hitherto been at command for works of benevolence at 
home and abroad. There were those, however, who still 
remembered with interest their delegates in a foreign 
land, and evinced their cordiality by word and deed. " I 
hope," writes one, " that we shall show by our liberality 
that we all bear you upon our minds, and that the deser- 
tion of your cause by a few has only tended to enlarge 
our desires towards you." Friends in London came for- 
ward to the assistance of those in Edinburgh. The direc- 
tion was still to be vested in the hands of the latter : the 



GOTTEN BURGH. 71 

funds were to be augmented by the former. A remittance 
which was sent about the month of June reached Gotten- 
burgh most seasonably for the replenishment of a purse 
which was not merely low, but actually deficient. It is 
not unlikely that the remembrance of this season of anxiety 
in his early life may have quickened the earnestness with 
which, when a tutor, he was wont to give counsel on the 
necessity of prudence in the management of pecuniary 
affairs. To this topic he devoted an entire section in his 
course of Lectures on Missions, delivered to the students 
at Hoxton College : — 

" The consideration that every farthing received from the Direc- 
tors is money devoted by the faithful to the cause of their common 
Lord, must lead every sincere and genuine missionary to make it a 
matter of conscience to appropriate it in such a way as shall most 
effectually promote the object for which it is given. Heedlessly to 
squander it away, or avariciously to hoard it up, would equally 
betray a total absence of holy missionary principle. If what is 
allowed him be found more than sufficient for his maintenance, he 
will generously place it at the disposal of the Directors, or employ 
it in a manner accordant with their views, or in such a way as must 
approve itself to the mind of every enlightened well-wisher to Zion. 
It is not likely, however, that dangers from this quarter will often 
be presented. But, on the other hand, much prudence will be neces- 
sary in the missionary, in so husbanding and applying money as 
not to involve himself in debt on his own account, or create expenses 
in the prosecution of his work, which the Society will not defray. 

" This prudence will be evinced, 

" I. In the choice of a place of residence, or missionary premises. 

" 1. From necessity, as well as from a sense of propriety, the 
abode of a missionary must at first, in almost every case, be rented. 
Except in an uncivilized country, or where no lodgings are to be 
obtained, to think of building or purchasing would be altogether 
preposterous. He may soon be called to quit for another station ; 
and therefore the less he entangles himself the better. Instances 
have occurred of missionaries having involved the Institutions with 
which they were connected in immense expense, by proceeding too 
hastily to the erection of buildings 

" 2. In hiring a house, guard against extravagance, and take one 



72 FIRST JOURNEY. 

at as low a rent as is consistent with a strict regard to health, 
necessary convenience, and other circumstances arising 1 from the 
nature of the station. 

" 3. When compelled to build or purchase, give full scope to the 
exercise of prudence. First of all, reflect whether really, after all, 
it be absolutely necessary ? Ask yourself, whether circumstances 
are such as to justify the entertainment of strong expectations as to 
the permanency of the station ? whether the rate at which you are 
paying rent be less or more than the interest of the money required 
for effecting the new project ? and whether you can fully and satis- 
factorily substantiate the claims of the case to the Directors ? Of 
course, you would never think of actually proceeding to the adoption 
of any measures of this kind without obtaining their sanction, or 
the concurrence of those brethren with whom you may be associated 
in the district. Count the cost well, that you may have no occasion 
to bewail your disappointment and failure. 

" 4. Let every step you take be conducted on the most economical 
principles. Pay particular attention to size, finishing, etc. ; and 
let no extravagance characterize any part of your proceedings. Be 
prudent in regard to your style of furniture and mode of living. 
Let everything be neat, but nothing expensive or superfluous. Do 
not vie with the men of the world. You cannot, with all your 
efforts, equal them ; and your attempting it will only expose you to 
their ridicule, and involve you in difficulties from which it may be 
impossible for you to extricate yourself. 

" II. Informing and pursuing plans of usefulness. 

" Some men are never satisfied with any plan : but have no sooner 
brought one into operation, than they instantly project and endea- 
vour to carry out another. It is easy to see what expense such a 
restless and inconstant spirit must create. Others are carried away, 
by an imprudent zeal, to form extensive contracts, without calcu- 
lating the means by which they are to be discharged. Prudence 
will teach you always to do the most you can at the least expendi- 
ture ; to act the part of the cautious and calculating tradesman ; and 
never to lavish the funds of the Society by proposing, and endea- 
vouring to effect, what a little forethought must have shown you 
would either partially fail, or entirely come to nothing. . . . 

" III. In standing clear with the world. 

" Rather suffer the privation of enjoyment than contract debts 
which you have no means of discharging, or any probability of being 
able to discharge within a reasonable period. The Apostolic rule 
is, ' Owe no man anything,' Horn. xiii. 8. See Dwight's Theology, 
Serai, cxxiii., ii. 4, on ' the frauds we practise upon others.' 



GOTTENBURGH. 73 

** IV. In keeping regular accounts. 

" Some persons are exceedingly careless in this respect, in conse- 
quence of which they never know their real circumstances, and are 
frequently brought into the greatest embarrassments. A prudent 
attention to the noting down of even the smallest items, will not 
consume much of your time, nor prevent your occupation with more 
important matters, and will save you much perplexity and trouble. 
Begin now, if you have hitherto neglected such a mode of procedure, 
that when you enter on the field of labour, it may already have 
become habitual. 

" V. In being regular and distinct in drawing bills on the Society. 

" Never sign or send off a bill without forwarding a letter of 
advice, in which you clearly state all the particulars connected with 
it. I have often blushed for missionaries whose bills have been 
presented for acceptance by the Board of Directors, without any 
note accompanying them ; and as frequently on account of the 
unbusinesslike manner in which the money transactions have been 
described. A very little attention, indeed, to the technicalities of 
the business will suffice ; and a proper regard to his character ought 
to induce every missionary to learn them. . . ." 

The necessity of retrenching his expenditure co-operated 
with the warmly-expressed wish of his Gottenburgh 
hearers to induce his sacrifice of the visit he had intended 
making to Stockholm in the summer. " I deem it/' he 
writes, "more prudent to hushdlla"* Unable in person 
to congratulate his friend on having entered upon married 
life, he sent his good wishes in written form : — 

Gottenburgh, July 7, 1809. 

" Very dear Brother, — I would have written you by last post, 
had I not deferred too long, and then something came in the way 
which entirely hindered me. I have received both your letters, and 
they have been read with the most lively sensations of a heart 
which feels itself deeply interested in all that concerns you. I am 
extremely happy to find that the Lord hath so graciously removed 
every barrier which might have lain in the way of the completion 
of your wishes. , . . 

* To economize. 



74 FIRST JOURNEY. 

" I truly feel thankful that our heavenly Father has provided you 
with such a wife ; and it is and shall be my constant prayer that 
He would make you mutual blessings to each other, and render you 
eminently useful in advancing the interest of our Lord and Saviour. 
Perhaps, my dear brother, there is no sin to which you will now be 
more exposed than that of idolizing the object of your affections. 
I believe she possesses every qualification you could desire, but it is 
just this that increases your danger. Love is no sin, provided it be 
properly regulated. It must ever be kept in subordination to the 
affection we owe our Supreme Benefactor. I hope, therefore, that 
how highly soever you love her (and with the love due to a created 
being you perhaps cannot love her too highly), you will not suffer 
her to usurp that place in your heart which ought ever to be con- 
secrated to Jehovah. Regard her as given you of the Lord ; and 
the more you esteem the gift, the greater ought to be your esteem 
for the Giver. It may be needful also to remind you (although you 
know it) of the slenderness of the tie which binds her to this world. 
It may be useful to begin early to familiarize yourself with the 
thought that you must part again for a season ; that, if spared, you 
may have the painful task allotted you of closing her eyes ; — and 
by being daily conversant with this idea, it may render you at all 
times more resigned to the will of God, and at last [enable you] 
submissively to say, ' It is the Lord.' I trust you will pray much 
with and for each other ; for prayer is the life of every state. 
Without it, no condition in life can prosper. An openness in this 
duty inspires with double confidence, and makes all the duties 
which devolve on associated individuals peculiarly easy. The Lord 
strengthen you in attending to this, and do not forget your poor 
brother in Gottenburgh. . . . 

" I shall write your intended bride next week when I get out to 
Brecko. In the mean time give my most affectionate remembrance 
to her, and believe me to be your's in the Lord, 

" Ebenezer Henderson." 



And again, under date of Sept. &0th : — 

" Dearest Brother and Sister, — Last mail brought me your 
joint letter, the perusal of which excited in my breast an ardent 
glow of affection for you, as my fellow-labourers in the vineyard of 
the Lord, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel. I 
bless His name for His goodness in uniting you to each other, and 
so long as I am mindful of myself at the throne of His grace, I shall 



GOTTENBURGH. 75 

not, I cannot fail to request that He would pour down upon you 
showers of blessing- from above, that you may ever experience an 
abundant share of that enjoyment which arises from the heartfelt 
influence of the gospel ; and that, from day to day, you may be 
favoured with an increasing acquaintance with the hope of His 
calling, the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and 
the exceeding greatness of His power toward them that believe. 
No happiness is to be compared with that which arises from the 
contemplation of Christ crucified. The more we behold this blessed 
object, the more irresistibly do we feel ourselves attracted by its 
charms, and enter more into the Apostle's spirit when he says, ' The 
love of Christ constrains us.' A blessed constraint! Oh, to be 
more and more impelled by it to the love and practice of those 
things which are consonant to its nature and design. It is this 
love which has awakened within your breasts a reciprocal attach- 
ment and affection ; and it is this alone that can give it increasing 
permanency and strength. The closer your associated and individual 
walk with Christ is, the more will yon feel yourselves attached to 
each other. Let us drink daily into the same spirit which animated 
our glorious Head : let us contemplate with unveiled face, as in a 
mirror, the glory of the Divine perfections, as they shine with 
matchless resplendence in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ, and 
we shall be more and more assimilated into the same image, and 
thus be making progression in the way that leads to the abodes of 
holiness and light; while at the same time we are advancing in 
fitness for the full enjoyment of that bliss which God freely bestows 
upon the unworthy through the infinitely meritorious righteousness 
of His dear Son. 

" I forward some letters which cannot fail to give you pleasure, 
especially that most affectionate one from Brother Gordon. Let us 
jointly praise the Lord for having given us brethren who take such 
a particular interest in all our concerns. I trust you w 7 ill ever be 
ready to give me your advice, and that you remember me before our 
heavenly Father. Many difficulties may be expected to occur in 
the work to which we are called, and we stand in particular need 
of wisdom from above. There is one thing which occupies my atten- 
tion much at present, respecting which I will be happy to have 

your opinion. Two of our sisters here, Mrs. S , and Mrs. L , 

intend that I should baptize their children. As to the first men- 
tioned, I dare say there would be little difficulty, as her husband is 
a native of Scotland ; but the other being a Swede, and all members 
of the Swedish church here, I have every reason to believe it would 
cause an alarm among the Consistory, were I to perform any such 



76 FIRST JOURNEY. 

act. On the other hand, as they cannot in conscience let their chil- 
dren be baptized according to the present ceremonies of the church,* 
I am fully convinced that it is my duty to accede to their proposal, 
let the consequences be what they may. We can go about it in the 
first instance in a private way, and see what effect it has when it 
comes to be known. Should the Consistory cite me to appear before 
them, I would write them a very respectful letter, stating the 
reasons of my procedure, but begging to be excused from attending, 
etc., not being subject to their jurisdiction, and appealing to the pre- 
sent increase of liberty and light, etc., etc. Do write me your 

opinion of the matter, by the first post 

" Wishing you both grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father 
and the Lord Jesus Christ, I remain, your faithful brother, 

11 Ebenezer Henderson." 

The course pursued, in reference to the point herein 
discussed, either escaped the notice of the ecclesiastical 
authorities (which was not unlikely to be the case at a 
season when political changes were so rife and so engross- 
ing), or else the intolerance of the Swedish Consistory 
was not then maintained with its usual rigour. Care, 
moreover, had been taken not to give needless offence, and 
this may have been one reason why offence was not need- 
lessly taken. Even when sufficiently masters of the lan- 
guage to have ventured on preaching in Swedish, both 
Mr. Paterson and Mr. Henderson desisted from any such 
attempt, lest a cry of proselytism should be raised against 
them, and lest they should find themselves so compromised 
with the government as to be interdicted from the import- 
ant labours in which they were more widely engaged. 
If Swedes voluntarily came to hear them preach, and, 
hearing, were led to embrace what they held to be purer 
views of gospel-truth or of church-polity, they could there- 

* The Swedish Lutheran church practises a rite very nearly allied to 
the exorcism of the Romanists and Greeks, in significant symbolism of 
their firm and literal adherence to the dogma of baptismal regeneration. 



GOTTEN BURGH. 77 

in rejoice and give thanks to God : but the diffusion of 
God's holy word among the people they esteemed more 
highly than the championship of controverted tenets or of 
disputed forms. 

The beginning of the next year brought with it some 
important matters for consideration. Charles XIII. of 
Sweden having been induced to declare in favour of France,* 
it seemed possible that the Icelandic enterprise could with 
safety be resumed, as this change had brought the opposite 
shores of the Oresund again into a friendly relation. On 
the other hand, the hostility which subsisted between both 
these countries and England, made it doubtful how the 
work could best be taken in hand. Before the breaking out 
of the war, 1500 copies of the New Testament had been sent 
off. The remaining 8500 — which had wonderfully escaped 
destruction during the bombardment, although the ware- 
house in which they were stored had been greatly damaged 
by fire, — were lying ready for shipment. The Bible 
Society had authorized that one or other of the two mis- 
sionaries should visit the island in person, while the other 
endeavoured to forward the printing of the Bibles that were 
to follow. The questions arose, Which should go? and 

* The declaration of war against Britain, which ensued upon this, was 
little more than nominal. The order for the war-prayer excited no small 
commotion among the grateful Dalecarlians. The ravages which conflict, 
famine, and pestilence had entailed on the Swedes and Finns had for 
several years past called forth the exercise of British compassion and 
liberality in their behalf. This generosity had not been forgotten by a 
grateful-hearted people. "War with the English?" they exclaimed; 
"we were starving, and they sent us food ; our souls were perishing, and 
they sent us the Bible : no, we cannot pray against the English. They 
are not our enemies ; they are our best friends." The earnest remon- 
strance was heeded, and in their province the offering of the prayer was not 
enforced, — an exemption the more readily yielded, when the government 
itself had no real antagonism against those whom they were only con- 
strained to set at defiance. 



78 



FIRST JOURNEY. 



how ? The subjoined letter exhibits the full difficulty of 
the case, the prudence which weighed every obstacle, and 
the zeal which was ready to overcome all surmountable 
hindrances. 

Gottenburgh, 13 Jan. 1810. 
V My dear Brother, 

"I foresaw the readiness with which they [the friends 

in Britain] would acquiesce in our proposal to get the Icelandic 
Bible printed during the present favourable rate of the exchange ; 
though I was rather dubious as to their approving the proposed 
voyage to that island. This you will see, from Mr. Tarn's letter, 
they have done ; and it now becomes a matter of consideration which 
of us is to proceed thither. Were you disengaged from the various 
connections you have relative to the printing of Swedish Bibles, tracts, 
etc. ; or could I execute such a work in your absence, i. e. if I had 
the same knowledge of the art, and could not only superintend the 
work at Stockholm, but also in case of an opportunity offering, pro- 
ceed to Copenhagen, and carry on the execution of the Bible-print- 
ing there, it might be a matter of indifference which of us went. 
But as my talents are totally inadequate to the work you have at 
present in hand, as well as that which I hope will soon present 
itself in Denmark, and the undertaking in Iceland being unattended 
with any gigantic difficulties, in my humble opinion it does not 
admit of a doubt that the voyage falls to my lot, if the Lord be pleased 
to continue with me the blessings of health and strength. I antici- 
pate the hardships and dangers of the voyage. As matters are, too, 
between England and Denmark, one must be obnoxious to imprison- 
ment, etc. But I can say with confidence, that after surveying all 
these objects in the worst light they will bear, I find myself un- 
moved. He, whose I trust I am, and in whose service I am engaged, 
is the Omnipotent Jehovah ; He hath promised never to leave nor 
forsake His people ; and His saints have in every age experienced 
that as their day, so their strength has been. Oh, to have more of 
the spirit of Paul (Acts xx. 24), to be more entirely devoted to the 
Lord Jesus, and more willing to spend and be spent for His name's 



" But a few questions of importance occur : how am I to get to 
Iceland, supposing it to be settled that I go ? Is there any inter- 
course between that island and England ? The Governor is at pre- 
sent in London. Does he return, and how ? Would it not be ad- 
visable to proceed by the same conveyance ? To go out under his 



GOTTEN BURGH. 



79 



protection is just the summit of what we could wish. And a better 
opportunity of obtaining this cannot be had than the present. If I 
could not go out with him, would it not be best to get a pass from 
him to visit the island ; and though I might not be allowed to enter 
a ship in Denmark, a voyage could be bespoke through the interest 
of friends in Copenhagen, and I could go on board from Helsingburgh. 
or Hogenas. You smile perhaps at this proposal, but really as 
matters at present are in Denmark, it seems the only utvag, * if a 
passage cannot be obtained from England. 

" We must immediately write to Copenhagen respecting the Testa- 
ments. Mr. C is gone again to Helsingoer, but returns soon ; 

we can easily correspond through him. . . . {£f* Send me the Ice- 
landic Testament you have, without delay, that I may familiarize 
myself as much as possible with the language. I will exercise my- 
self a little in the mean time with the Danish. 

" Supposing I were to proceed to Iceland by way of England, do 
you think I should at all think of visiting Scotland, for a few weeks, 
if the opportunity was not pressing ? These things require imme- 
diate arrangement. Let us implore of our heavenly Father all 
necessary wisdom and direction, that we may not be found adopting 
or following any plan but what comports with His holy will and 
pleasure, and which by His blessing shall tend to the glory of His 
name and the present and everlasting welfare of immortal souls. 
His ear is ever open to our cry, and He hath promised to guide the 
meek in judgment. 

" It has just occurred to me, that if England carry on an inter- 
course with Iceland, it will be dropped between that island and 
Denmark. In this case it will be necessary to get the Testaments 
sent over to Sweden, whence we can transport them to England. 
I hope you will not suffer a post to pass without writing me on this 
subject. Your's with much affection, 

"Ebenezer Henderson. 

"P.S. Would it not also be advisable to have an English pass, as 
a security against men-of-war, etc. ?" 

A preliminary visit to England was judged desirable ; 
and resources for this object were supplied in a manner 
no less gratifying than unexpected, a present being made 
him at this time by a few of his hearers at the chapel in 

* " Expedient," or " means." 



80 FIRST JOURNEY. 

Gottenburgh, — 800 RD. in amount. Thus enabled to 
meet the charges of the voyage, he sailed on June 21st, 
and spent the summer among friends at home, giving a 
full account of all that had been wrought, and conferring 
with them on the best measures to be adopted as to the 
future. On visiting his family-circle, he had to sympa- 
thize with them in their grief for the recent loss of his 
brother's eldest son, who had died in his eighteenth year, 
June 3, 1810. 

During the month of July, he visited Liverpool, and 
having been introduced to Mr. Spencer, who was then 
preaching on probation, he not only accompanied the latter 
to bathe, but they entered the water, close by if not actually 
on the very spot where, about a twelvemonth later (Aug. 
5, 1811), the young preacher, so beloved, so honoured, so 
lamented, was suddenly removed from this life in what was 
deemed the very budding- time of his ministerial efforts. 
It can easily be conceived, that when the news of the 
mournful and mysterious stroke reached the distant shore 
of Sweden, it was received with a thrill of special emotion 
by one, to whose memory it would naturally recall with 
an overpowering force this incident of their past inter- 
course. One had indeed been taken, and the other left. 



CHAPTER III. 

Second Journey. (1810—1817.) 

" Heill s£ er qvath. 
" Heill s& er kann. 
"Nidti s& er nam. 
"Heilir theirs hlyddo."* 

In the middle of October, Mr. Henderson returned by the 
Harwich sailing-packet to Gottenburgh, where he was 
rejoiced to meet the friend and fellow-labourer, whom he 
had not seen for two long years. He found that the latter. 
by reason of a groundless prejudice raised against him. 
owing to the unwise conduct of one that bore the same 
naine,f had (without reason assigned) been refused a pass- 
port to Copenhagen ; but that he was in communication 
by letter with friends in that metropolis. Their answers 
were " few, and far-between." It was not that their zeal 
had declined, but that their timorousness had over-mastered 
it. They shrank from indulging in the correspondence, 
lest it should be construed into an act of unpatriotism. 
By dint of importunity, estimates for the Bible-printing 
were procured from them, the paper which had been con- 
tracted for in Skonen, was forwarded in return, and the 

* "Hail to him that hath published them abroad {lit., recited or sung 
them)! Hail to him -who apprehendeth them ! Advantaged be he, who 
hath rightly learned them ! Hail to such as have given ear to them !" 
{Closing verse of the Runic Chapter. See the Hdva-mal in Scemund's Edda 
Rhythmica, 4to, Havniae, vol. iii. 1828). 

f Book for every Land, pp. 120, 137. 

G 



82 SECOND JOURNEY. 

work was at length proceeded with, though in a very 
dilatory style.* The visit to Iceland was necessarily 
delayed. Nor was it found needful personally to super- 
intend the distribution of the Swedo-Lapponese Testa- 
ments, as arrangements had been made with the Court of 
Chancery and the Consistory at Hernosand, whereby the 
former undertook the transporting of them by land free of 
expense, and the latter engaged to take good heed as to 
their circulation. These circumstances left Mr. Henderson 
at liberty to spend another two years quietly at Gotten- 
burgh. He had been sowing the seed, and now he was to 
reap the first crop. Let the following letter bear its own 
testimony. 

Gottenburgh, April 12, 1811. 

. ..." I have much reason to be thankful for what of the Divine 
goodness I have experienced since I left you. The Lord hath sur- 
rounded me with mercies, and loaded me with favours. Indeed, I 
have lacked nothing but deeper gratitude and devotedness of heart 
to God for His distinguished loving-kindness. He brought me in 
safety across the mighty ocean, and conducted me in peace to my 
former sphere of labour. He had in the interim created a longing 
in the hearts of many for my return, and has again honoured me to 
proclaim to them His great salvation. 

" Our place of worship has been uncommonly well attended since 
my return, especially towards the latter end of winter, and the 
gospel has, I trust, proved the savour of life to some souls. Many 
who had lived wholly indifferent about divine things, have had their 
security disturbed ; some who attended only occasionally now hear the 
gospel statedly ; and others who had been alarmed by the terrors 
of the Lord, but were ignorant of the divinely appointed way of 
escape, have found peace to their troubled souls, in that blood which 
cleanseth from all sin, and are now showing forth the praises of Him 
who called them from darkness into His marvellous light. 

" The young man, the Swede, of whom I spoke to you when in 
Scotland, as bearing some hopeful symptoms, now gives satisfactory 
evidence of having passed from death unto life. He has had much 
to learn, and much to unlearn, but his progress during the winter 

* Book for every Land, pp. 126, 129, 135—137, 142, 151, 153. 



GOTTENBURGH. 83' 

has been astonishing. Yet why should we wonder ? he is under the 
tuition of the Holy Spirit. None teaches like Him. 

" Another young man, a native of Ireland, has had sad struggles 
between the operations of sin and the remonstrances of conscience. 
His attendance at chapel has been regular, but his attendance at the 
billiard-table as regular. He has prayed, and read his Bible, — 
resolved, and re-resolved to lead a new life, — but found all his en- 
deavours ineffectual, utterly ineffectual, either to afford him peace 
of mind, or to free him from the dominion of sin. I had frequently 
set before him the detestable nature and destructive consequences 
of sin, as well as the only possible way of escape, but these 
attempts were for a time wholly fruitless ; sin retained its do- 
minion, and Satan looked with a diabolical smile on the impotent 
attempts of his prisoner to break his chains. I called upon him 
lately, however, and have reason to hope the interview has not 
been in vain. I addressed his conscience in the most plain and 
faithful terms, showing him that as he had hitherto regarded iniquity 
in his heart, the Lord only regarded his prayers and other services 
as abominable in His sight, and showed him that there existed 
the fullest reason to conclude that he had hitherto been deceiving 
his soul, seeing that the influence of the faith he professed had 
neither been felt by himself, nor exhibited to others. I also set 
before him the work of Immanuel, and proved to him from the word 
of God, that nothing short of a firm belief in, and uncompounded 
dependence upon that work could afford him confidence in the view 
of the approaching judgment, or secure his victory over the power of 
indwelling corruption and acquired habits of sin. Since that period, 
there appears some comfortable evidence of his being a new creature. 
He now glories exclusively in the cross of Christ ; he has abandoned 
the ways of sin, and appears resolved, through grace, to live by the 
faith of Jesus to the praise of His glory. 

" These cases, my dear Brother, when viewed in connection with 
the enquiries of others respecting the way of salvation, are of a very 
encouraging nature. At the same time, there remains yet abundant 
cause to lament that so few believe the divine report. It may truly 
be said of the great majority of my hearers, that God is not in all 
their thoughts ; the affairs of this life engross their supreme regard ; 
sensual pleasures are preferred to those which are spiritual, and 
matters of eternal concern are wholly neglected. Nevertheless, 
when I think of the omnipotency of Jehovah's arm, the efficacy of 
Immanuel's blood, and the richness and freeness of the grace of the 
gospel, I feel emboldened to persevere in proclaiming the word of 
life to perishing men. 



84 



SECOND JOURNEY. 



" Besides preaching in public, I have had many opportunities in 
private of presenting the truth to the attention of men. I have also 
kept a Sabbath-school since the beginning of the new year, in which 
I hope to be useful to the young people."* .... 

The Sunday-school class, here mentioned, was not with- 
out its results. One instance of its usefulness is recorded 
at a later date in a letter from Copenhagen : — 

" K M , in Gottenburgh, who used to attend the chapel, 

and also came at times to the school, died lately in the faith and 
hope of the gospel. She ascribed her knowledge of divine things to 
my instrumentality, and wished much to see me before she died. Bless 
the Lord for this new testimony." 

It was early in the year 1811, and probably as the result 
of arrangements made with the Edinburgh publisher, or 
with some Edinburgh friend, when in Scotland during the 
previous summer, that Mr. Henderson's earliest literary 
production, the first-fruits of his German studies, left the 
press ; viz., a translation of Roos's Exposition of Daniel. f 
The author, a Suabian by birth, having passed through a 
collegiate course at Tubingen, was appointed curate of 
Stuttgard in 1754, and shortly after deacon of Goppingen, 
then superintendent of Lustnau, and finally prelate of 
Anhausen. He was a man of piety and learning, author 
of some thirty theological works, larger or smaller, some 
critical and some experimental. With Hebrew, Greek, 
Latin, and English at command, he could base his remarks 
on the etymological meaning of the original terms, and 
could quote at pleasure from Bengel, Orosius, Guertler, 
Eusebius, or Bishop Newton, though the first of these was 
his chief guide and favourite authority. He Avrites as one 

* Missionary Magazine, vol. xvi. (1811), p. 1S9. 

f " An Exposition of such of the Prophecies of Daniel as receive their 
accomplishment under the New Testament. By the late Rev. Magnus 
Frederic Boos, A.M., translated from the German by Ebenezer Hender- 
son. 8vo, Edinburgh, 1811," p. 328. 



ROOS ON DANIEL. 85 

diligent in research, yet independent in judgment. In his 
computations, he adheres to BengePs system of prophetic 
months and years. His calculation of Daniel's " seventy 
weeks" differs consequently from that of Stuart and Barnes, 
which was the one that the translator adopted when he 
came to study the subject with a maturer judgment. 

A general outline of the exposition may be of interest, as 
the work is seldom met with in this country. The four 
kingdoms denoted by Nebuchadnezzar's image, Mr. Magnus 
Roos explains on the usual principle, rejecting, however, by 
cogent argument, the idea that there is a significance in the 
number of " legs," and that they refer to the division of 
the Eastern and Western Empires. He regards the ad- 
mixture of iron and clay, as symbolic of the power gradually 
acquired by barbarians, from the time when, after the 
death of Theodosius, the Goth and the Vandal, in the per- 
sons of Rufinus and Stilicho, gained ascendancy over 
the weak-minded Emperors, and paved the way for the 
gradual decline, though not the total loss, of that stalwart 
iron-heartedness which had marked the subjects of the 
Csesars ; while, in subsequent times, the iron preponderated 
over the clay (contrast the order of the terms in Dan. ii. 41 
and 42) in proportion as Rome, through her ecclesiastical 
influence, gained a new political importance. The ten 
" toes," although they are not numerically specified, he 
explains as numerically significative, because of their 
correspondence with the "ten horns" in chapter vii., and 
interprets them of ten Christian monarchs, allied (as the 
Christian thrones of Europe now are) either by descent or 
by intermarriage with the Germanic-Roman Empire. The 
(i stone " that is to overthrow the monarchy, he considers 
to be the institution of a New Testament theocracy, — a 
kingdom that " shall have no other code of laws than the 



86 SECOND JOURNEY. 

Holy Scriptures, no other policy but the wisdom which 
cometh from above ; — a kingdom, in which faith will be 
the only courage, righteousness and holiness the only orna- 
ments ; in which no military art shall be known but the 
apostolical, nor any precedency or superiority acknowledged 
but that of fathers in Christ."* Before the setting up of 
that Theocracy, Antichrist, denoted by the " little horn," 
must first arise. He is to be an individual, for the other 
kings are described as his " fellows," and to him is ascribed 
the personal attribute of a far-seeing and deep-judging 
policy. That policy he will exercise against God's saints, 
interfering with their public ordinances of worship. But 
his time of judgment shall come, sentence shall be passed 
against him in " the celestial judicatory," his course of 
wickedness shall be suddenly arrested, and with his de- 
struction shall co-incide the advent of the new and heavenly 
kingdom. This interpretation is compared with the visions 
in the Apocalypse; the " ten kings" there mentioned are 
regarded as temporal princes, while the " seven-headed 
beast," — its heads being not contemporary, but successive 
(Rev. xvii. 10), and each inscribed with the name of 
"blasphemy," — is considered to denote a succession of 
ecclesiastical rulers, the last of whom shall be identical 
with Daniel's Antichrist, shall draw to himself the power 
of the " fourth monarchy," and shall be subdued by the 
King of kings before the marriage-supper of the Lamb. 

The prophecy, contained in chapter viii. of Daniel's book, 
Roos expounds, as do most, in reference to Antiochus 
Epiphanes, whom, however, following some of the early 
fathers, he looks upon as the type of Antichrist, and main- 
tains that in chapter xi., there is a sudden transition (at 

* P;ige 138. 



ROOS OX DANIEL. 87 

ver. 36) from him to his antitype. On the meaning of the 
Mahuzzim (see marg. ver. 38), there is an elaborate dis- 
sertation, to show that this infidel ruler will encourage 
the worship of his own image, which shall be set up for 
the purpose in the temples of the strongest towns. What 
" countries " he is first to invade (ver. 40), the commen- 
tator considers unrevealed. Judaea and its neighbour- 
territories having been attacked, Egypt, Libya, and 
Ethiopia will be subjugated, but a swift and irremediable 
destruction will be interposed to check the swelling tri- 
umphs ; whereupon shall follow, according to this theory, 
as the world's closing period, a "two thousand" years of 
bliss, 

One of the passages most characteristic of a German 
writer is the following : — 

" How could Daniel see the Son of man approach unto the 
Ancient of Days, and receive from Him dominion, and glory, and 
a kingdom ? Why does he connect the vision of this with the 
destruction of Antichrist, since the Lord Jesus hath ever since His 
ascension been in the presence of the Father, and received from Him 
all glory and power ? I reply, It is the same with this as it was 
with the book and the seven seals, which the apostle John saw the 
Father deliver unto the Son. Whatever transpires between the 
Father and the Son, is eternal and unchangeable. . . . God exists 
not only through, but beyond all periods of time. The Son came 
and took the book which contained all power in heaven and in earth, 
when John was in a trance upon the island of Patmos. But He had 
come before, and was still to come; and yet there is only one coming, 
which in the strictest sense was, is, and shall be. When the fourth 
monarchy shall be subverted, the Son will come near to the Ancient 
of Days, and receive the kingdom from Him. That approach must 
be considered as present and actual, as well as past and future. The 
Father's good pleasure in the approach and in all the operations of 
his Son, is perpetual and unintermitting. It is never changed into 
a mere remembrance of something past and gone. The three parts 
of Jehovah's name, He is, He was, and He will be, are one in God ; 
that which was, is ; and that which is, was; and that which shall be, 



88 SECOND JOURNEY. 

is and was ; for Jehovah is one. In Him there is no change arising 
from past, present, or future. Now, as Daniel and John were both 
of them favoured with a view of the glorious enlargement of the 
kingdom of God, both in heaven and upon earth, it was proper that 
they should at the same time perceive the source to which it was to 
be traced. They had both, therefore, a discovery of the transference 
of the kingdom from the Father to the Son. They saw this as 
taking place, and not as already past, because it is a permanent, not 
a transient act, and has an immediate influence on all that transpires 
throughout all the periods of time."* 

As it regards the character of the translation, a reviewer 
would at once be stumbled by the Scotticisms, and old- 
fashioned phrases, as well as by the crudities of expression 
which mark the hand of the tyro, but which are decidedly 
less numerous at the close than at the commencement of 
the volume. A biographer, on the other hand, must pause 
to note the influences that bore upon the enterprise, and 
those which the undertaking itself was to bear upon sub- 
sequent labours. It is evident that the political agitation 
which was seething among the nations, and the rapidity 
with which the eagle of the Imperial Corsican was sweep- 
ing its victorious course from kingdom to kingdom, had 
awakened the not unnatural, but (as it proved) mistaken idea 
that the consummation of all unfulfilled prophecy was in 
some way to be immediately connected with those troublous 
times and that ambitious potentate. Nor is it less manifest, 
on the other hand, that the interest excited by the critical 
and expository remarks of this author, and by the compari- 
son of these with the system of Faber, laid a foundation 
for that continued and more sober study of the prophetic 
writings, which ultimately resulted in the publication of 
Dr. Henderson's well-known Commentaries. Even in this 
initial step of the career, there are slight foretokenings of 

* Pcmes 205, 206. 



ROOS ON DANIEL. 89 

the aptitude he would afterwards evince. The few foot- 
notes which he has appended, prove that he had already 
set himself to collate version with version, as well as Scrip- 
ture with Scripture. The rules laid down hy Roos at the 
outset will be recognized as among the canons strictly ob- 
served by Dr. Henderson in his interpretation of the pre- 
dictive records : — 

" To determine the sense of prophecy, we must consider the time in 
which the prophet flourished, together with the events that transpired 
either at that period or soon after; these being the original from which 
predictions of things at a distance are taken. Thus David, living- at 
a time when a royal government existed in Israel, prophesied fre- 
quently of Christ as a King, which we do not find to be the case 
with Moses. . . . Jeremiah prophesied and lived to the time of the 
Babylonish captivity. He also predicted the return from it, and 
intimated at the same time that something similar would happen to 
Israel in the latter days ; yea, he often declares concerning other 
nations that God would bring back their captivity. . . . 

" The prophets often begin with a statement of the scope of their 
predictions, or the objects in which they should receive their completion, 
and then return to explain why, and in what manner, these objects 
should be attained. . . . 

" Many things have a very different appearance, worth, beginning, 
and end, in the invisible world and before God, than they have in the 
eyes of short-sighted mortals. . . . Who would have thought, for in- 
stance, that the pilgrimage of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, was of 
greater moment than the achievements of a Sesostris or a Semira- 
mis ? yet that is recorded in the sacred writings ; these, not. The 
subjection of Jehoiakim to Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. i. 1), appeared to 
be a matter of small consequence, and would certainly have been so 
if it had soon ceased. But from the knowledge we possess, it appears 
great, being the commencement of the enthralment of the people 
of God 

" As the mystery which shall be finished in the days of the voice 
of the seventh angel, is that which God hath made known by his 
servants the prophets, Rev. x. 7, it follows that the prophets of the 
Old Testament not only predicted the incarnation, sufferings, death, 
and exaltation of Christ, and the state of the church down to tlie de- 
struction of Jerusalem by the Romans, but also that they prophesied of 
events both of a terrible and a joyful nature, which should take place 



90 SECOND JOUENEY. 

in the last time. In a proper explication of their prophecies, there- 
fore, it must be made to appear which of them belong to the time 
of the seventh trumpet. 

" That cannot he regarded as a good interpretation of prophecy 

which does not discover more in prophetic vision than clear 

and well-known truths respecting Christ and His church. No solid 
reason can be assigned why God should have afterwards involved in 
figurative or metaphorical language, such truths as had been declared 
before in the most explicit and open manner. . . . 

" The phrase ' in that day,' which occurs frequently in the prophets, 
does not always refer to the identical day, year, or century to which 
the subjects immediately preceding belong. . . . It intimates, however, 
that there is a connection between the things predicted, and that, in a 
certain respect, they thus occupy one whole period. See Isa. xviii. 7 ; 
xix. 19, etc. 

" We must familiarize ourselves with the sudden transitions, which 
are often to be met with in the prophetic word, from near objects or 
events to those at a distance. . . . 

" It facilitates the interpretation of prophecy when we take into 
account the particular knowledge, or kind of knowledge, which each 
prophet possessed. If, for instance, we compare Isaiah and Ezekiel 
with each other, we shall find that to the former was principally 
given the knowledge of glory, and to the latter that of life. With 
these, their visions, prophecies, and even their expressions, all 
coincide. . . . 

" When we are furnished by any of the prophets with a description 
of the limits, appearance, situation, or swiftness of the subject he is 
speaking of, we must accommodate our interpretation accordingly. 
These qualities must all be included ; and nothing is to be said with 
which they do not agree, either in the literal or a metaphorical sense ; 
while, on the other hand, we are not at liberty to invent any such 
properties or circumstances, and append them to the prophecy. It is 
sufficient, for instance, in explaining Zech. v., to make it appear what 
the ephah signifies. No mention is made of its size ; and in treating 
of the two women, we must confine ourselves solely to their number 
and wings, nothing else being mentioned in the text. 

" Where a distinction is made between Israel and Judah, as also 
between Israel, Judah, Zion, or Jerusalem, and the Gentiles, regard 
is to be had unto the Jews properly so called. The Gentiles, or 
heathen, signify other nations, by what name soever they might 
afterwards be denominated — Christians, Mahometans, or Pagans. 

" The names, Edom, Moab, Amnion, Egypt, etc., must not be inter- 
preted figuratively, or understood in a mystic sense, but are to be 



R00S ON DANIEL. 91 

understood literally of the Edomites, etc. The same rule applies to 
the names of countries, cities, and rivers. Those passages only are 
excepted, which are expressly declared to have a figurative meaning. 
See Rev. xi. 8, and xvii. 5. The mystical significations which are 
founded on a supposed resemblance, are destitute of certainty, and 
have given rise to many arbitrary inventions of human genius. 

" When a prophecy is quoted by the apostles and applied by them 
to their own times, they do not always intimate that its complete ful- 
filment is confined to that period. Thus Isa. xi. 12 is applied Rom. 
xv. 12 to the days of the apostles; yet it has been fulfilled since, and 
will yet be fulfilled. The same may be observed of Joel iii. 1 — 5 
[Engl. Version, ii. 28 — 32], compared with Acts ii. 17, etc. . . . 

" We must particularly observe, when the prophets are giving a 
simple description of future occurrences, as prophetical historians ; 
and when they are representing things to come with a view to excite 
admiration, joy, terror, etc., as orators and public teachers of religion. 
Iti the former case, all their expressions are to be understood literally ; 
in the latter, not. For an example of the historical style, which will 
not admit of any metaphorical meaning, see Dan. xi., also Ezek. xl. 
to the end of the book."* . . . 

It is not needful here to enquire who may have held these 
tenets before Roos, or who may have laid them down as 
systematically, or (some may choose to say) dogmatically. 
The point in hand is to show that, as here and as by him 
defined and determined, they commended themselves to the 
judgment of this young student of prophecy; and that to 
these maxims he continued his lifelong adherence, since he 
never found a just cause for abandoning* them as untenable. 

Mr. Henderson's German reading was not solely theolo- 
gical. When autumn had brought with it the splendid 
comet of 1811, he observed what was said of it in a Leipzig 
periodical, and made an entry on the inner cover of his ex- 
tract book : " Mr. D. Lamberti,in Dorpat,has computed that 
this comet was 57f times less than the Sun, but 17 times 
larger than Jupiter; 25,104 times larger than the earth; 

* Pases 53—59. 



VA SECOND JOURNEY. 

and 1,255,200 times larger than the Moon, (Leips. Neu. 
Lit. Zeit. Marz. 1812. No. 58)." Above this notice he 
sketched the comet's position and appearance in reference 
to Ursa Major on the nights of Sept. 21, Oct. 3, and 
Oct. 4, respectively. Astronomy he had never made a 
regular study,* but he saw in it a wide field of profitable 
meditation. He understood well how "the heavens declare 
the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handy- 
work ;" and often he delighted in expounding the Psalm- 
ist's words, " Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto 
night showeth knowledge; there is no speech, nor lan- 
guage," no formal utterance of syllables ; " their voice is 
not heard " in words and sentences ; yet " their line," their 
harp-string as it were, their resounding harmony of praise, 
" is gone out through all the earth, even their " musical 
" chords to the end of the world." 

The glories of creation, much as he admired them, could 
not make him unheedful of the greater glories of the new 
creation. Hence, on the opposite cover of the same note- 
book, we find a record of a very different character. 
"Oct. 6, 1811. The formation of the first Congregational 
church in Sweden, when the disciples at Gottenburgh joined 
in commemorating the dying love of Jesus Christ." Minute 
details of this small but hopeful beginning were given in 
a letter addressed to the church under the pastoral care of 
the Rev. John Aikman, and published in the " Missionary 
Magazine :" — 



* A mistake has been made by some in ascribing to my father a 
treatise on the "Arithmetical Architecture of the Solar System." This, 
with several other works on Astronomy, as well as "Annals of Edin- 
burgh and Leith," "Annals of Glasgow," etc., was penned by his 
nephew and namesake. The one was D.D. ; D.Ph. The other is 
LL.D.; D.Ph. 



GOTTENBURGH. 93 

Gottenburgh, Dec. 30, 1811. 

"Deariy beloved Brethren, — More than a year has elapsed 
since I enjoyed the privilege of spending a few weeks among you, 
'joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith 
in Christ,' and of personally addressing you on the subject of the 
Mission in which my fellow-labourer and myself have been employed 
for some years past in the north of Europe. The deep interest you 
took in the communications I then made, and which you manifested 
in so conspicuous a manner by the abundance of your liberality at 
that time, as you have since done by the contributions you have 
made towards our support, convinces me that any further intelligence 
which may be in our power to impart, respecting the state and pro- 
gress of our work in the service of the gospel of Christ, will be 
eagerly received. Brethren, we cannot be sufficiently thankful on 
your behalf before God, for ' your care of us, which has flourished 
again and again,' as we are thereby enabled to display the glorious 
banner of salvation, and disseminate the life-giving seed of Divine 
truth in a part of the world where the utmost barrenness in spiri- 
tual things prevails, — and as any success with which it may please 
God, in the sovereignty of His mercy, to crown our exertions, will 
be fruit, that will 'abound to your account at the day of Christ.' 

" As you hear from time to time from brother Paterson respecting 
the department which he fills, and the efficiency of his plans for the 
circulation of the Holy Scriptures, I shall confine myself at present 
to my own individual engagements. Since my return to this place 
last autumn, the Lord of the vineyard hath not left me to labour in 
vain. The good that has been done, is indeed far from being com- 
mensurate with my wishes ; nor has it equalled the expectations 
which from time to time I have formed. But, blessed be God, I have 
evidence as satisfactory as the circumstances of the case admit, that 
He hath given testimony to the word of His grace, by rendering it 
effectual in turning sinners from darkness unto life, and from the 
power of Satan unto Himself, — to serve Him, the only living and true 
God. In a letter to your esteemed and worthy pastor some time 
ago, I gave a detailed account of some of these cases ; and as you 
must have been made acquainted with them, it is unnecessary to go 
over them again at present. Two of those, who during that period 
had been brought to the knowledge of the way of salvation, have 
left us, — the one having returned home to Ireland, the other to 
America. It is probable that I may never see them more in this 
world ; but my prayer is, that the God of all grace would preserve 
them by His almighty power, through faith unto salvation, and I 



94 SECOND JOURNEY. 

hope to meet them again with joy 'in the presence of our Lord Jesus 
Christ at His coming.' 

" It will doubtless afford you much pleasure to hear of the forma- 
tion of a new church in Sweden, which has taken ' the churches of 
God, which in Judaea were in Christ Jesus ' for her pattern, and is 
solicitous in all things to be conformed to the constitution established 
under the immediate superintendence of the inspired ambassadors of 
the King of Zion. The few who have been benefited by my labours in 
this place, and who have had some experience of the ways of God, 
have, with myself, long wished for such a union, as, putting us in 
possession of the ordinances of Christ, might increase our spiritual- 
mindedness,devotednesstoGod, and self-denial,— and thereby knit our 
hearts more closely together in love, that we might have it in our 
power, by the Divine blessing, to furnish the world with a more strik- 
ing exhibition of the nature and effects of primitive Christianity. The 
peculiarity of our circumstances, however, the fewness of our number, 
and the limited nature of toleration in this country, deterred us for 
a time from acting upon the views we had obtained. But we were 
at last convinced that, allowances being made for our situation, it 
was our duty to carry our principles into effect ; recollecting, that 
had the Apostles and primitive Christians confined themselves within 
those lines which were prescribed for them by the toleration of the 
world, we would never have heard of a Christian church, nor would 
our ears have been saluted by the joyful sound of salvation. We 
saw ultimately that nothing kept us back from observing the ordi- 
nances, but the fear of man ; and we were reproved, as well as ex- 
cited to duty by the words of Christ : * And I say unto you, my 
friends, be not afraid of them that kill the body,' etc., Luke xii. 4, 5. 
Accordingly, on Oct. 6, the first Sabbath we met in the chapel after 
its being repaired, the disciples came together in the afternoon, when 
I addressed them on the nature and ends of Christian association ; 
after which, we formed ourselves into a church, by unitedly surrender- 
ing ourselves in prayer unto the Lord, imploring His presence and 
blessing, and the communication of that grace and strength which 
He hath promised to enable us to keep His commandments. Our 
union was then confirmed by a joint participation of the 'one loaf 
by which it is so strikingly represented. 

" Three months have now nearly elapsed, during which we have 
not met with the smallest interruption ; and having obtained help 
from God, we have ' continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine, 
and in fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayers,' 
Acts ii. 42. Yesterday we had the pleasure of receiving a new 
member, another seal to my ministry. Our number does not amount to 



GOTTENBURGH. 



95 



more than eight — three brethren, and five sisters, — so that, in this 
point of view, I cannot say that we afford a representation of the 
church above ; yet, in another respect, there is a considerable resem- 
blance. In our case, that Scripture is illustrated which says, ' There 
is neither Jew,' etc. ; as also, ' They shall come from the East, and 
from the West.' One of our number is of the stock of Abraham, 
and a native of Germany ; one was born in Italy ; three have been 
born here ; and three in Scotland. When these circumstances are 
taken in connection with our views and plans when we left you at 
first, and also with the change of political relations in a neighbour- 
ing country by which we were brought into this, we cannot but be 
filled with wonder and admiration at the infinite wisdom and un- 
searchable judgments of our God. Let us adore Him in the dust. 

"Thus, brethren, I have given you an account of our infant 
Society, and I have done so with a view to engage your earnest 
prayers at the throne of grace in our behalf. We stand much in 
need of them. A great deal depends upon the manner in which the 
foundation is laid, and the care with which we build on it, seeing 
those by whom we are surrounded have no idea of churches founded 
on apostolical principles : and our assuming the character, without 
in some measure acting up to it, could not possibly have any other 
effect than prejudicing the minds of men against every attempt to 
revive the primitive practices of the Christian institution. We know 
that God does not despise the day of small things; and this animates 
and encourages us to proceed, but we proceed with trembling, afraid 
lest any misconduct of ours should throw a stumbling-block in the 
way of the world. 

" The number of my hearers is, as it always has been, very fluc- 
tuating. It is somewhat remarkable that almost every successive 
Sabbath furnishes me with a number of new hearers. There is 
such a constant influx and efflux of travellers and seafaring people 
here, that the face of my congregation is continually changing. . . . 

" My time is filled up in the following manner : — On the morn- 
ing of the Lord's day, we have worship between the hours of 11 
and 1. At 3 o'clock p.m. my Sabbath school begins, which con- 
tinues till \ past 4. At 5, we have the Lord's Supper;* and at 6, 
our public evening-service commences. We have also a lecture on 
Thursday evening : the rest of the week is taken up with prepara- 
tory studies, and endeavours to preach from house to house. Oh ! to 



* Weekly communion was the practice observed, and (as Dr. Hender- 
son thought) commendably observed, by the Independent churches in 
Scotland ; — a custom, which he consequently adopted. 



96 SECOND JOURNEY. 

be more resolved to spend and be spent in His service. And now, 
brethren, I conclude by ' commending you to God, and to the word 
of His grace,' etc. [Acts xx. 32, and Col. i. 9, 10]. 

" Ebenezer Henderson." 

The above letter is given at so great length, because 
it shows that the catholicity of spirit which its writer 
ever maintained, and which he found so largely manifested 
toward himself, was not the result of any indifference of 
feeling, or laxity of principle, on his part, as to the subject 
of ecclesiastical polity. 

The most youthful member of the infant-church was 
Adolph Holmlin, "the young Swede," referred to in a 
former extract. But it was not long before he was trans- 
ferred from an earthly to a heavenly fellowship. One 
twelvemonth of union with the church was all that was 
granted him here below. The October of the year ensuing 
saw him laid on a bed of sickness, prostrated by the fever 
which terminated his mortal life. Mr. Henderson, who, 
in the mean time, had left Gottenburgh, heard of the 
event with deep lamentation, and drew up a memorial- 
sketch of the young disciple's brief career. It appeared 
in the "Missionary Magazine" for May 1813, and it 
proved of so much interest to the friends in Scotland, that 
Mr. Gordon of Edinburgh had it reprinted as a tract. 
The opening paragraphs may fitly be transcribed, as illus- 
trative of ministerial labours pursued " in season, and out 
of season :" — 

" Mr. Sven Adolphus Holmlin, the subject of this memoir, was 
born at Gottenburgh, in Sweden, June 8th, 1790. As none of the 
family appear to have been under serious impressions about their 
own salvation, they cannot be expected to have been at all solicitous 
about the promotion of his. At the usual period of life he was 
confirmed, according to the mode used in the Swedish church, and 
admitted to the Sacrament, whereby he became qualified for holding 



GOTTENBURGH. 97 

any situation, or transacting- any business that might fall to his lot 
in the world ; having by his compliance with these ceremonies given 
sufficient proof that he was neither Jew, Turk, nor heathen. 

" It was not before the year 1809 that I became acquainted with 
him. I had observed him for a considerable time constantly attend- 
ing our chapel at Gottenburgh, but had found no opportunity of 
learning what was the specific object which brought him there ; or 
whether the preaching of the gospel had been productive of any 
salutary effects upon his mind. Towards the close of *the above- 
mentioned year, I determined, if possible, to have a conversation 
with him about the things which belonged to his peace. I accord- 
ingly threw myself in his way as we were going home from chapel 
one day, and, after a few introductory remarks, invited him to call 
on me some evening when his time permitted. He accepted the 
invitation with much apparent satisfaction, and came according to 
appointment. I found him to be of a sedate turn of mind ; but he 
did not seem to have ever taken the subject of religion into close 
consideration. I endeavoured to impress his mind with a sense of 
its supreme importance, and the impossibility of our experiencing 
any true happiness except by walking in the ways of God ; stated 
the value of the Holy Scriptures, and the responsibility of those 
who have access to them ; and put some Magazines and Tracts into 
his hand which I thought might be of use to him. Although [he 
was] uncommonly diffident, I soon observed that my labours had 
not been in vain. His mind seemed gradually to open for the recep- 
tion of truth ; and it was evident that a serious enquiry had com- 
menced. 

" In the spring of 1810, he fully opened his mind to me, and 
acknowledged that the only motive which had induced him to come 
to chapel was the opportunity with which it presented him of learn- 
ing the English language ; that he began to be sensible of a differ- 
ence between the doctrines I preached, and what he had been accus- 
tomed to hear, but he had never seriously taken it under considera- 
tion. He found the Scriptures inculcating many things which he 
did not see observed by any he knew ; but he thought that surely 
the priests must know the Bible better than he did, and supposed 
it by no means necessary to be stricter in his Christianity than they 
were. What first led him to serious consideration was the reading 
of Matt. vii. 13, 14, which I had pointed out to him one evening, as 
testifying the deplorable situation of the great bulk of mankind* 
Previous to that period he had never doubted but that all who were 
confirmed and took the Sacrament, consequently almost the whole 
kingdom, went to heaven when they died. But he found the Lord 



98 SECOND JOURNEY. 

Jesus solemnly declaring in the above passage that all was wrong ; 
that they were posting along to eternal perdition ; and that, instead 
of the generality being saved, there were in fact but comparatively 
few that attained to everlasting life. His enquiry now was, ' What 
shall I do to be saved ?' and by the blessing of the Divine Spirit on 
the means with which he was favoured both in public and private, 
his attention was ultimately fixed on the eternal atonement made 
on the Cross by the Son of God, as the means and medium of recon- 
ciliation, and the only shelter from the wrath to come. Having 
obtained like precious faith with the apostles in the Divine testi- 
mony respecting the person and righteousness of Jesus, the eyes of 
his understanding were daily more and more opened by the Spirit 
of truth, and his views of the gospel and of the path of duty con- 
tinued to expand and settle. 

" On my return from Britain in the autumn of 1810, I was happy 
to find him still seeking the Lord his God. His joy at my return 
was great. From that time I could perceive a growth in spiritual 
knowledge and grace every time I had an opportunity of conversing 
with him. What gave me peculiar satisfaction was the concern 
he expressed about the souls of his relatives. They can testify how 
frequently and pressingly he urged the necessity of their laying to 
heart the awful realities of an approaching eternity. His sister, in 
particular, as she understood a little English, he prevailed on to 
attend the church with him, and assisted her in acquiring a better 
knowledge of the language, purely with a view to the salvation of 
her soul. ... I can truly say I had much joy of him, — beholding 
the rapid expansion of his mental faculties under the direction and 
formation of Divine grace, and the consistency of his conduct in the 
world. . . . 

" At length the time arrived, when, in the providence of God, I 
was to be called away, for a season at least, from my friends, to 
fulfil certain previous engagements in another quarter. Mr. Holm- 
lin took a deep share in the general concern excited in our little 
church, on their receiving the intelligence ; he was with me the 
whole of the day previous to my departure, and, though considerably 
cast down, he was unremitting in assisting me to pack up my books, 
etc. The next morning, too (it was Midsummer-day), notwithstand- 
ing the heavy rain, and by setting off at an early hour, he came the 
distance of half a mile to bid me farewell. I shall never forget the 
hold he took of my hand. The carriage had already set off, and he 
almost suffered himself to be dragged along with it, rather than 
deny himself the satisfaction of giving me a parting token of his 
fraternal affection." 



GOTTEN BURGH. 99 

Then follow extracts from two of his letters, and a full 
detail of his last days, written by his betrothed. " I 
asked him," she says, " if I should read a portion of the 
" eighth of the Romans : when I came to the 16th verse, 
" s Oh !' said he, ' that witness I have known, and it is a 
te e good thing to know it.' " Again she adds, " He spoke 
ic a little of your sermon on ( the general conflagration,' 
1 i without expressing anything in reference to himself ; 
" but his placid joyful countenance seemed to say, 

" ' Verld blir et ingen ting, 
" ' Men jag star glad pa gruset, 
" * Af det nedbrutna huset. 
" ' Mitt hufvud lyfter jag, 
" ' Och ropar ; sota dag.' 

" ' The glorious sun no more revolves, 

" ' The fabric of the world dissolves ; 

" ' But I can stand and all survey, 

" ' Lift up my head, and cry, Blest day !' " 

Among other Christians who visited him, was Mr. 
Moritz, who had for some time been resident in Gotten- 
burgh, and who has since become well known as an agent 
of the London Jews' Society. " Can you die comfort- 
" ably ?" asked the converted Israelite. " Yes, Sir," was 
the answer, " without a doubt, without a doubt ! I can 
" rely on the death of Christ, and T hope soon to praise 
" God for His mercy and grace." Such a testimony as 
this could not fail to elicit an ardent thanksgiving when 
it reached the ear of him who had first pointed the enquirer 
to the one sure basis of a lasting, solid, perfect peace. 

Mr. Henderson's removal from Sweden was matter of 
regret to himself as well as to the newly-formed flock. 
There was no one to occupy his place, no one to carry on 
the work. But the voice of duty called, and it was his to 
obey. " You may be^ assured," he writes (April 20, 



100 SECOND JOURNEY. 

1812), " that it is not without some sensations of pain 
that I tear myself away from friends in Gottenburgh." 
The separation, he then hoped, would be only temporary ; 
and he felt that the interests of a little band must be 
sacrificed for the claims of an entire island. The Icelandic 
Bible was not likely to be expedited, until some one was 
on the spot to take vigorous measures. Mr. Paterson was 
about to start for Russia on a Bible mission, and there 
was no resource but for Mr. Henderson to obtain leave of 
entrance into Denmark, and then repair to Copenhagen, 
where he could urge on the printer and the reviser of the 
press in their daily tasks. 

When he quitted the scene of his five years' ministra- 
tions, he went in the first instance to Helsingburgh, to 
await the transmission of his passport. Here he had a 
pleasant and an important meeting with Dr. Steinkopff 
and Mr. Paterson. We find a reminiscence of it in a 
letter addressed to the Foreign Secretary of the Bible 
Society after a lapse of seven years. Writing in 1819, 
Dr. Henderson says : — 

" I left the Danish metropolis on the 23rd ; and the following 
day, being- the Lord's day, I spent at the inn, where we had the 
delightful meeting with our dear Paterson, in the year 1812, and 
where ice were permitted to enjoy some hours of sweet communion 
with our God and Redeemer , and iciih each other, as felloio-labourers 
in the important work of extending the boundaries of His heavenly 
kingdom. When I took a review of what had been effected, and what 
had taken place in the experience of all three since that memorable 
period, I was constrained to exclaim, What hath God wrought ! 
surely He leadeth His people wonderfully, and doeth all things 
well ! At that time there did not exist a single Bible Society in 
Denmark, or Iceland, or even in Russia itself, although, as you will 
recollect, ive projected the formation of such an institution in all three 
countries ; whereas, now, the greater part of Northern Europe and 
Northern Asia is planted with flourishing biblical establishments," * 

* Monthly Extracts, No. 24, July 31, 1819. 



DR. STEINKOPFF's REMINISCENCES. 101 

Mr. Henderson was not the only one to cherish a life- 
long 1 recollection of that interview. The venerable Dr. 
SteinkopfT, so well-known in connection with the Foreign 
Secretaryship of the Bible Society, and with the pastorate 
of the German Church in the Savoy, has kindly complied 
with a request tendered to him, and has transmitted the 
following valuable document : — 

" Among those whose memory I wish to cherish with peculiar 
respect and grateful affection, is your late beloved husband, whose 
loss has to be lamented not only by yourself and your immediate 
relatives and friends, but also by a large circle of friends both in 
Great Britain, and in far-distant parts of Continental Europe and 
Asia, which in the course of an active, laborious, and useful life have 
been visited and benefited by him. The first time I had the privi- 
lege of a personal acquaintance with him, was on the occasion of a 
journey which, as one of the Secretaries of the British and Foreign 
Bible Society, I had to undertake to different parts of the Continent 
of Europe, in the ever memorable year 1812, the very year in which 
Napoleon the First, then in the plenitude of his power, invaded the 
Russian Empire. Having the whole of Germany and Prussia under 
his control, it was extremely dangerous for any Englishman, or any 
foreigner resident in Great Britain (at that time engaged in war 
with France), to travel from that country to such parts of the Conti- 
nent as were in the possession, or at least under the dreaded influ- 
ence of that mighty potentate. My parents lived at Stuttgart in 
the kingdom of Wurttemberg, and to reach that city I was obliged 
to take the circuitous route of Sweden, Denmark, Hamburg, and 
Hanover, and thence to my own native land. At Gothenburg I was 
to meet Dr. Henderson. Both he, and his able fellow-labourer 
Paterson, had originally been destined to occupy British India as the 
field of their missionary labours. A combination of peculiar circum- 
stances compelled them to proceed by way of Copenhagen to their 
important destination at Serampore, where the prospect of a friendly 
protection from the Danish Government presented them with a 
favourable spot for the commencement of their arduous undertaking. 
Being detained in Copenhagen longer than they had expected, they 
had an opportunity of becoming acquainted with several Christian 
and benevolent institutions both in Sweden, and in the Island of 
Fuhnen. "Watching and improving the various opportunities which 
offered for doing good, they soon arrived at the conviction that God 



102 SECOND JOURNEY. 

in His all-wise and overruling Providence was calling them to take 
part in a great and blessed work to be carried on in the vast regions 
of the Northern Empires, instead of those primarily proposed for 
their exertions in the East. Their attention was drawn to the 
printing and circulation of the Scriptures in the Danish, Swedish, 
Finnish, Lapland, and Icelandic languages. The latter attracted 
the special interest of Dr. Henderson, who took up, for a considerable 
time, his abode at Copenhagen in order to acquaint himself with 
that interesting language, to lend his friendly aid in the publication 
of a fresh edition of the entire Icelandic Bible then carrying on 
under the able superintendence of a learned Icelandic scholar, and to 
prepare himself for undertaking a personal visit to the interesting 
people of that Island. Owing to the war which was unhappily dis- 
turbing the friendly relations of the Danish and British Governments, 
Dr. Henderson was, ere long, compelled to retire from his peaceful 
occupations in Copenhagen, and at Gothenburg to wait for the 
return of more favourable circumstances. When I arrived in that 
Swedish town, I met with Dr. Henderson ; and from our very first 
interview, I felt attracted to him by the intelligence and cultivation 
of his mind, and the Christian graces of his spirit. He reminded 
me of the Latin saying, ' Sana mens in corpore sano,' — (a sound 
mind in a healthy body). There was something noble and dignified 
in his person ; manliness and firmness were expressed in his coun- 
tenance, — his eye beamed with benevolence, — his conversation 
showed him to be a man possessed of enlarged views and extensive 
information. The more I saw of him, while travelling with him 
from Gothenburg to Helsingburg, a Swedish fortress opposite the 
Danish fortification of Elsinore, the more was I confirmed in my 
conviction, that he was endowed with those very physical and intel- 
lectual powers, and those moral and religious qualifications, which 
were specially required in the sphere of action to which the provi- 
dence and grace of God had called him. At Helsingburg we were 
joined by Dr. Paterson, and spent six days together at a Swedish 
inn, calmly and maturely surveying the vast field for spiritual cul- 
tivation, presenting itself to our view in the three Northern king- 
doms of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway ; and still more extensively 
in the dominions of the Emperor of Russia. Again and again did 
w r e consider and deliberate in what way, and by what means, the 
barren soil could be best broken up, and rendered fruitful by an 
ample dissemination of the precious seed of heavenly truth. We 
felt deeply the great and diversified difficulties, which, in addition 
to long-cherished prejudices on the part of so many of their benighted 
inhabitants, the disturbed state of Europe would throw in the way 
of our peaceful mission. 



103 

" Sensibly alive to our weakness, and the insufficiency of all 
efforts of our own, and impressed with a feeling of our entire de- 
pendence upon the providence, protection, and guidance of an 
Almighty, all-wise, and gracious God, we determined in the Sabbatical 
quietude of a retired chamber of our inn, to strengthen ourselves, 
and each other, by unitedly drawing nigh to the table of our 
adorable Redeemer, in solemn commemoration of that infinite love 
and compassion which induced Him freely to yield His body to be 
broken, and His precious blood to be shed for the remission of our 
sins. This delightful service proved most encouraging to us. Anew 
united to our blessed Lord, to each other, and to all His people, by 
the sacred ties of grateful attachment and endearing affection, we 
resolved, all together, and each in his distinct line and department 
of service, to consecrate ourselves with body, soul, and spirit to the 
promotion of His glory, the advancement of His kingdom, and the 
salvation of immortal souls, wherever facilities should be given to us 
for that purpose. AVe also determined that Drs. Paterson and 
Henderson should resume their labours in that portion of Sweden 
and Finland which they had already so successfully occupied, by the 
important aid rendered by them to our Swedish and Finnish 
brethren in the printing and circulation of the Holy Scriptures in 
the languages of their respective countries. The pleasing hope was 
also entertained, that the Danish Government would allow Dr. 
Henderson to return to its Capital with a view to his continuing his 
simple, peaceful, and benevolent labours in the completion of the 
printing of the Icelandic Bible. This hope was happily realized 
soon after my arrival in Copenhagen. A full and free permission 
was granted him to reside in that city for so simple and benevolent 
a purpose. Here he very soon, by his talents, learning, amiable 
conduct, genuine piety, and active benevolence, conciliated such 
respect and confidence among all, — even the superior classes of 
society, especially the Bishops and the Clergy, that not only were 
measures adopted for the establishment of a Danish Bible Society, 
but he was also encouraged to undertake a personal visit to that 
highly interesting portion of the Danish dominions, — Iceland ; — his 
friends furnishing him with all requisite official introductions to the 
civil and ecclesiastical authorities of the Island, while the 5,000 
copies of the Icelandic Bible, and extra copies of the Xew Testa- 
ment, which, had to a considerable extent been printed by the 
benevolent aid of the British and Foreign Bible Society, were 
forwarded in merchant vessels, free of expense, to the sea-ports 
and factories of the Island most conveniently situated for ensuring 
a due and suitable distribution of the requisite number of copies to 



104 SECOND JOURNEY. 

the various parishes and districts, in exact proportion to their 
wants and necessities. Thus sanctioned and equipped, he set out on 
the 8th of June, 1814, on board the Seven, a vessel belonging to 
Westy Petraeus, an Icelandic merchant resident in Copenhagen, and 
commanded by his brother, who did everything in his power to pro- 
vide for his accommodation and comfort, In this vessel were con- 
veyed no less than 1183 Bibles and 1668 New Testaments in the 
Icelandic language. 

" ' Lifting up,' — Dr. Henderson wrote at that time — ' my heart to 
Him that dwelleth on High, I implored His blessing on the important 
undertaking in which I had embarked, and prayed that He would be 
graciously pleased to render the precious seed which I was honoured 
to carry over to a distant Island, productive of a luxurious harvest.' 

" The great end and aim of our Icelandic traveller was none other, 
than to traverse the inhabited parts of the Island, even in its interior 
and remote districts ; to visit as far as time and circumstances would 
render it practicable, the principal towns and villages, not omitting 
scattered and solitary farms ; to enter into friendly converse with 
men belonging to various classes of society, especially with those 
placed in official stations, both civil and ecclesiastical, paying par- 
ticular attention to the clergy, both in town and country, and en- 
deavouring, by their instrumentality, to ascertain the actual state 
of their respective parishes, with regard to the possession or the 
want of the Scriptures, and in conjunction with them to settle the 
most suitable and effectual means of supplying this want, either by 
sale at moderate prices, or by gratuitous distribution. This object 
he kept constantly in view, devoting to it the greater part of the 
years 1814 and 1815, pursuing his laborious task undismayed by 
toil, fatigue, or danger, displaying a degree of physical strength, and 
power of endurance, combined with a composure and fortitude of 
mind, and blessed with a singular, child-like confidence in a God of 
infinite power and goodness, whose protection and deliverance he 
had experienced in so many an instance. Thus supported, and 
helped on from place to place, he proceeded manfully and cheerfully 
in his mission of mercy, encouraged on the part of the population by 
word and deed, and enabled to testify, as an eye and ear-witness, 
that the liberal supply, both of the entire Bible and of the New 
Testament, was esteemed as a rich boon, more desired by numbers of 
the people than gold, and much fine gold ; — that it was eagerly read 
in their long wintry nights by individuals, and in the family circle, 
and that thousands abounded in thanksgivings and praise, both to 
the Great Giver of every good and perfect gift, and to those British 
benefactors, whom He had vouchsafed to employ as the almoners 
of His spiritual bounty. 



DR. STEINKOPFF's REMINISCENCES. 105 

" But whilst thus steadily and zealously executing- his honourable 
commission as agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, his 
enlarged mind was also bent upon improving the opportunities thus 
afforded, to make himself extensively and accurately acquainted with 
those remarkable natural phenomena, which presented themselves 
to the view and investigation of the admirer and lover of God's 
wonderful works in creation. He, in consequence, visited and in- 
spected with ardent and indefatigable zeal the awfully sublime, yea, 
often terrific scenes, which abound in that land of volcanoes, in which 
often a strange conflict is seen between the elements of fire and 
water ; between boiling hot springs, and all the cold and freezing 
changes of snow and ice. There we find our traveller climbing up 
and descending mountains, standing between thundering masses of 
melting lava and rushing floods, and exhibiting an indomitable 
courage, amounting in the opinion of his hardy Icelandic guides, to 
almost a provocation of dangers so immediate and threatening, that 
even a spectator at a distance could scarely refrain from mingled 
feelings of admiration of his courage and calm self-possession, amidst 
surrounding scenes of horrors, and of disapproval and condemnation 
of a spirit of presumption, exposing health and life to needless risk 
and sacrifice, similar to the temptation which our blessed Lord con- 
demned, when He repelled the tempting solicitation of the devil to 
cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the Temple, by that stern 
word of command — ' Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God !' 

" When I read his description of what he actually encountered, I 
felt insensibly alarmed for — and yet constrained to thank God with 
him, for his hair-breadth escapes from heights and rocks, whence by 
a single slip of his feet, he might have been precipitated into an 
abyss of irretrievable ruin and destruction. Yet this very boldness, 
yea, rashness, enabled him to witness and describe scenes which few, 
if any, of his predecessors in travel had dared to approach so near, 
and to observe so closely ; and having finished reading the account 
of the whole of his tour, I could not but join him in magnifying and 
exalting the glorious name of God, for having so marvellously pre- 
served the life, and strengthened the health of one of His devoted 
and confiding servants, for an endurance of all the hardships and 
perils of a journey, in which he had to cross deserts scarcely ever 
trodden by the foot of man. 

" The scientific knowledge he possessed, and the ability to communi- 
cate the result of his observations and researches in so clear and in- 
telligible a manner, render his two volumes on Iceland a truly valu- 
able addition to those works previously published by men distin- 
guished by their talents and learning, some of whom were natives of 
Iceland, others Danes, Norwegians, and Britons. 



106 SECOND JOURNEY. 

" Another qualification which rendered Dr. Henderson peculiarly 
adapted for the successful accomplishment of his Mission to Iceland, 
was his penetration into the intellectual, moral, and religious state of 
the Island from the period of its first discovery, the original profes- 
sion of the heathen religion by its inhabitants, their conversion to 
Christianity, their submission to the Papal authority, and their 
gradual adoption of the principles of the Reformation. Dr. Hender- 
son being a good Icelandic scholar, he was thus enabled freely to 
converse with all classes of the native population, from the learned 
clergy and gentry, to the illiterate farmer and day-labourer : from the 
aged and those devoutly attached to primitive Christian simplicity 
and integrity, to younger individuals not unfrequently sympathizing 
with the more modern school of free-thinkers ; — from those who 
reside in sea-ports and factories, to those scattered in the more 
remote and secluded parts of the country. Living, as he did, under 
the influence of sound Christian principle, feeling the constraining 
love of Christ, and experiencing in his own walk and conversation 
the happy effects which a spirit of true, genuine, active benevolence 
is calculated, sooner or later, to produce, he went about from place 
to place, a burning and shining light. Conciliating the respect, and 
winning the affection of high and low, he impressed their minds 
with the conviction, that the Sacred Volume of Inspiration which 
he took such pains, and endured such hardships to diffuse among 
strangers far remote from his own native land, was esteemed by 
himself as a pearl of great price, — that it was the man of his own 
counsel, the daily companion of his travels, the support of his mind 
in all the trials of life, the rule of his conduct, a solid consolation 
and cheering hope amidst surrounding scenes of terror, and in the 
prospect of death. 

" Thus joyfully and manfully proceeding on his errand of mercy, he 
was treated by high and by low, by the clergy and the laity, in the 
most respectful manner. He was most kindly and hospitably enter- 
tained, often accompanied part of the way by those who had afforded 
him in their houses every accommodation and comfort in their power, 
— or provided with safe guides, and dismissed with prayers, bene- 
dictions, and other affecting marks of the liveliest gratitude and 
Christian affection by our Icelandic brethren, — and which they de- 
sired to evince to one, who had been sent to them from a far-distant 
nation as a messenger of peace, and an angel of mercy, with the 
gift of that Holy Book, which had already proved to millions, and 
would in time to come prove to generations yet unborn, an inex- 
haustible source of the purest instruction, and the most solid con- 
solation. 



HELSIXGBTJRGH. 



107 



" Two affecting proofs of this grateful recognition of Dr. Henderson's 
mission, and valuable services, were given to him before he took his 
final leave of the Island. He was accompanied by a band of natives 
to the sea-shore, who there on bended knees implored the special 
protection and benediction of God, both on his own person, and on 
the nation, as whose representative and almoner of their bounty he 
had been sent to them ; and then he was presented with a beautiful 
poem in the Icelandic and Latin languages, composed by their 
celebrated poet, the Rev. J. Thorlakson, addressed to the British and 
Foreign Bible Society, from a translation of which, the following two 
verses are selected as a specimen of the spirit which they breathe : — 

" ' Society of Christ ! most dear 
To Heaven, to virtue, and to me, 
For ever lives thy memory here ; 
While Iceland is — thy fame shall be. 
The triumphs of the great and brave, 
The trophies of the conquer'd field — 
These cannot bloom beyond the grave, 
To thee their honours all shall yield. 

" ' Yet, not the harp, and not the lay, 
Can give the praise and blessing due ; 
May He whom heaven and earth obey, 
Ye Christian fathers, prosper you : 
May He, — -if prayers can aught avail, — 
No joys in life or death deny ; 
Crown you with fame, that shall not fail, 
"With happiness that cannot die !' — 

" The Savoy, January, 1859." 

The above beautiful compendium will doubtless have 
awakened in the reader's mind an earnest desire for details 
more minute. An endeavour shall be made to illustrate 
the foregoing statements by the adduction of a few par- 
ticulars. 

With hearts bent on pushing forward the schemes 
decided upon in the Helsingburgh conference, the three 
good and holy men went their separate ways. But the 
lesson was again to be taught, that those who work for 
God must wait God's time. The longed-for document, 



108 SECOND JOURNEY. 

which alone could render it prudent for Mr. Henderson to 
enter the dominions of the Dane, was not forthcoming. 
The king had referred the matter to the Chancery. The 
Chancery knew nothing about it, but promised to look into 
the business ; — an indefinite hope this, when the proverbial 
dilatoriness of official bodies was taken into account. Time 
was precious. Could no better use be made of it, than 
spending it in such inaction at Helsingburgh ? A trip to 
Lund was resolved on, not for the mere gratification of 
exploring an ancient town, known in history as the " papal 
metropolis of the North," nor for the sole sake of re-visiting 
its Academia Carolina Gothorum, but for the purpose of 
bringing the object of the Bible Society under the direct 
notice of that University's leading members. 

"Neither Hylander nor Ekenstam was at home. I went and 
introduced myself to Norberg, Professor of the Oriental languages, 

and was heartily received He is the same man whom Dr. 

Blayney calls Mr. Norberg, the learned ' Swede.'* He has made 
me a present of a copy of his Syriac Codex, which he copied at 
Milan. I presented him with a rough draft of the Bible Society's 
operations ; and after seeing a Nazareen MS., which he is now about 
to publish, together with a Geography in the Turkish language, I 
took my leave. While at dinner at the inn, his man came with the 

* Dr. Matthias Norberg, Councillor of Chancery and Regius Professor 
of the Oriental and Greek languages, a noted scholar, whom the bard of 
Scania alike in prose and verse has memorialized as one " of simple speech 
and patriarchal worth, in innocence a child, in wisdom old." (See Teg- 
ner's " Lefnadsteckning ;" and the dedication to Norberg of his celebrated 
poem on the Children at the Lord's Supper.) On one point, the two 
friends were at variance. The poet was a Buonapartist ; the linguist's 
sympathies were with England. Hence the latter was especially ready 
at this juncture to welcome a visitor from Britain, the land which he was 
wont to call " the protectress of human as well as of divine rights." The 
visitor's taste for comparative philology would gain him additional favour 
in the eyes of one who peculiarly excelled in that department. It may be 
added, that the gift above referred to was not laid aside and forgotten : 
citations from Norberg' s Codex occur in my father's Commentary on the 
Minor Prophets (Amos v. 8, 26). 



LUND. 109 

books he had presented to me, and invited me to stop and dine next 
day with him. I did so, and had an opportunity of recommending 
to several of the Professors the grand importance of the circulation 
of the Holy Scriptures. Several of the Magisters waited on me at 
the inn, in full dress. One of them, in particular, I had conversation 
with in private, who promised to interest himself to the utmost for 
the Bible plan. He, along with some others, is going to publish a 
work entitled ' Jurnal for Religions Lareref and I have promised him 
an account of the Bible Society, which he is to insert. I likewise 
formed a very interesting acquaintance with Collega Arrhen from 
Carlscrona. He is intimately acquainted with Hylander ; and has 
undertaken on his return to recommend him to institute an enquiry 
into the state of his parishes with respect to Bibles. He has to do 
the same at Carlscrona, and to write to several clergymen in the 
country; and to report the same to the Stockholm Society. I par- 
ticularly recommended the formation of a Bible Society at Lund ; 
but the prejudice that it is an affair of the Brethren operates much, 
against it there." 

This prejudice is likely to have arisen from the fact that 
Professor Hylander, the first acquaintance of Messrs. 
Paterson and Henderson at Lund, was known to be a 
Moravian at heart. The tracts left with him six years 
before, and which he immediately translated, had no doubt 
some connection with what Kahl alludes to in a recent 
work on Tegner's contemporaries, when he tells us that the 
Professor published and gratuitously distributed copies of 
a pamphlet on the scheme of salvation, — its basis, its 
medium, and its law ; — a proceeding which could not but 
be distasteful to the formalists who abounded in his day.* 

* From the above writer we learn that Dr. Anders Hylander was a 
man endowed alike with gifts of the head and of the heart ; disinterested, 
upright, and conscientious ; kind, generous, and cordial ; a diligent 
lecturer on Old Testament exegesis and symbolic theology ; no mean 
Orientalist ; and so devoted to grammar, that his puns and tropes, alike 
on familiar and on formal occasions, were apt to savour of mood or tense, 
number or case. He had a remarkable flow of spirits, was a keen satirist, 
and so thoroughly showed himself the cheerful Christian, that Tegner 
coined the word v\av5lp£eiv in reference to the ease with which he could 
turn from the grave to the gay, and back again from the sportive to the 



110 SECOND JOURNEY. 

The result of this second and more important visit to 
Lund will be seen in the sequel. In the mean time, it 
may be well to notice the strong presumptive evidence 
furnished that Mr. Henderson had already made no incon- 
siderable progress in the Syriac, though the date of his 
having commenced its acquirement is unknown. If it 
seems to any, that he had done comparatively little in the 
first seven years of his residence abroad, it remains to be 
shown, that the long season of preparation thus enjoyed 
was not only a direct benefit to him, as an author, in the 
department of biblical criticism, but also an indirect advan- 
tage to him, as a Bible Society's agent, by facilitating his 
intercourse with those men of learning in foreign Univer- 
sities, who had it so much in their power to promote or to 
impede the forming of Associations throughout the length 
and breadth of Scandinavia. 

Patience was still tried in waiting ; but it was found 
unwearied, and was ultimately rewarded. 

Helsinghurgh, August 23, 1812. 
" You see I am still in Sweden. Yes, indeed, I have had a long 
stay in Helsingburgh. My patience has been completely exercised. 
Twice a week I have veered from hope to doubt, and from doubt to 
expectation. I have, however, accommodated Hab. ii. 3, to my 
petition : ' though it tarry, wait for it, because it will surely come, 
it will not tarry.' And it has surely come /" 

The Danish Chancery had gone about the matter with 
much of cautious jealousy; but on instituting enquiries 
about the petitioner's former residence in Denmark, and 
his present intentions, they received from the Etatsraad 

serious. His chief delight, however, was in the excellent of the earth ; 
and it was with the followers of Zinzendorf that he held refreshing com- 
munion of soul. In 1830 — five years after the death of his only son Sven 
Hylander, whose early removal from the walks of literature was deplored 
as a national loss — the aged man of eighty breathed his last, peaceful and 
trustful in death as he had been in life. 



COPENHAGEN. Ill 

Thorkelin a written statement, giving a full account of the 
whole affair, with an assurance that the two Englishmen 
were " as much attached to the King and Constitution of 
Denmark as was compatible with due regard to the inte- 
rests of their own native land," and were men so indubita- 
bly trustworthy that he could pledge with pleasure all the 
property he had in the world in behalf of their character. 
Such being the result of the investigation, the Chancery 
sent the petition back to His Majesty, with a strong recom- 
mendation that it should be granted. Mr. Owen states 
that this was owing in part also to the good offices of 
H. F. Horneman, Esq., a Danish member of the London 
Committee.* The royal assent was vouchsafed, and official 
documents were forwarded through the Consul-General, 
yielding every privilege requisite for the furtherance of the 
object, and according him a welcome into the country as a 
" Trofast Veil" (faithful friend) of Denmark. It was one 
instance out of many, in which he had reason thankfully 
to adopt Ezra's hallelujah (ch. vii. 27, 28), and to praise 
God for the mercy extended to him before kings and coun- 
sellors. " I do not remember," he said at a later period, 
" a single instance of any individual in power to whom I 
have applied for liberty to do good, having refused me. 
The Lord has wonderfully turned their hearts to that which 
was for the good of His cause. "f 

A considerable number of the Icelandic Testaments that 
were on hand were at once forwarded to the island, where 
they were " instantly disposed of, and eagerly bought." 
The new edition was attended to without delay, but not 
without difficulty. Five-and-twenty sheets were found to 
have left the press ; but on seeking to expedite the work, 

* History of the Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 220. 

t Jubilee Memorial of the Religious Tract Society, p. 88. 



11£ SECOND JOURNEY. 

obstacles arose. The Danish currency had greatly dimi- 
nished in value, while exorbitant war-prices were charged 
upon every article of food.* The Vaisenhuus printer, who 
had agreed to the sum of 30 rix-dollars per sheet, and had 
then obtained an advance to 50, declared it impossible to 
proceed under 70. It seemed a startling increase. Yet it 
could not be pronounced unreasonable. Another house, 
which had at the first sent in an estimate for 55, was 
applied to ; and their charge had risen to 100. Law might 
indeed have bound the workmen at the Orphan-House to 
fulfil their contract ; but equity could not insist on it, and 
the Bible cause could not be promoted by an act of oppres- 
sion which would virtually amount to nothing short of 
heartless robbery. The only alternative was to yield to the 
demand, or else to stop the work. Dr. SteinkopfF, who 
was still in the North, was consulted ; and with his ap- 
probation, the 70 rix-dollars were promised, on condi- 
tion that the terms should be lowered as soon as a better 
state of things might render such reduction feasible. 
When six months had passed, there was a change, but 
again for the worse. No less than eighteen of the New 
Bigsbank dollars, equivalent to 108 rix-dollars, were re- 
quired per sheet ; while the return of autumn saw yet 
another rise, and the 108 became 180. Similar difficulty 
arose as to the binding of the Testaments that lay in sheets ; 
while a further complexity was given to the business by 
the very sudden fluctuations in the rate of exchange, and 

* A dinner, for example, which had been charged at four dollars could 
not now be had for less than seven. " The black bread you offered me in 
Gottenburgh," wrote my father to Mr. Paterson, " and which I refused to 
eat, is now become my daily fare." Shortly afterwards he had to tell his 
friend, "I have been obliged to circumscribe myself to one room;" and 
then, looking as he always did at the bright side of things, he expatiated 
on its airy situation, audits commanding view of " Friederichsberg palace, 
the sea, and Amage." 



COPENHAGEN. 113 

the measures arbitrarily adopted by the government to 
meet the existing and ever-varying posture of affairs. 
Even those well versed in mercantile concerns, and usually 
sharp-sighted in their speculations as to the rise and fall of 
the money-market, found themselves utterly at fault. It 
is no marvel, therefore, that one little accustomed to the 
moves, should have been perplexed and well-nigh baffled. 
The following letter, written about this time, and ad- 
dressed to Mr. Aikman, is worth insertion and perusal : — 

Copenhagen, Sept. 27, 1813. 
" Very dear Brother, — It gave me much unfeigned joy to 
hear from you by Mr. Gillespie, and I felt myself peculiarly con- 
strained to join with you in blessing the great Head of the Church 
for the strength with which He has furnished you, to enable you to 
continue your testimony respecting the glories of His kingdom, and 
publish to ruined men the effectual relief presented in His everlasting 
gospel. How I rejoiced to hear of the extension of your field of 
labour — especially that you had access to the poor prisoners, and 
liberty to announce to them the freedom conferred by Jesus on all 
who believe in His name ! I pray the Divine Spirit to crown your 
exertions with a rich and abundant blessing ; and may you have 
many of these precious souls for gems in your crown of glory in 
the day of Christ. I trust when the different scenes of labour and 
conversion are brought to view in the final enrolment of the re- 
deemed, it will be said of the walls of the prisons you visit, ' This 
and that man was born there.' Naturally speaking, these spots are 
favourable to the attainment of the object you have in view. 
Abroad in the world, where thoughtlessness, dissipation, and folly 
carry all before them, there is no footing for serious reflections on 
invisible and eternal things. In the day of prosperity, men forget 
God and their best interests: but when circumstances of an adverse 
nature encompass and threaten them, — when left to themselves and 
the reflections of their own minds, — shut out from the enjoyments 
of life, — they are laid open to a sense of their own misery, and 
the mind is naturally disposed to hearken to any proposed relief! 
Thanks be to God, you can propose to them such effectual relief ! 
can direct them to an Almighty Deliverer, who came to proclaim 
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that 
are bound ; whose presence can cheer the most gloomy abode, and 
the virtue of whose merits extends to the most desperate case. 

I 



114 SECOND JOURNEY. 

" You naturally expect something from me, relative to the work 
in which I am engaged in this place, yet it is of such a nature as 
not to admit of any detail. In the present situation of things, 
preaching is out of the question. The only way open for doing 
good is by personal interviews and visits, and the giving away 
of a Bible or New Testament. I have mostly to do with printers 
and bookbinders, and I may add money-changers ; for the deprecia- 
tion of the value of money has introduced so much confusion, that 
thousands who scarcely ever troubled their heads about that article 
before, are now obliged to turn stock-jobbers and Jews, if they 
would avoid being imposed upon even in the most common transac- 
tions. I have the expectation of getting the last sheets of the Ice- 
landic Bible by the end of the year, and am at present taking 
measures for getting them bound, that they may be ready for ship- 
ment in the first spring-vessels, when, if it be the will of God, I 
hope on my way to Iceland to have the pleasure of conversing with 
you pe-el-pe* respecting many a subject of which I cannot now write 
you particularly. How I long once more for the fellowship of the 
saints ! My situation is parallel with David's, when he penned the 
63rd Psalm ; and I think I can say there is a parallelism in our 
feelings. With him I am still in Judah — within those precincts, 
where God's name is confessed ; but, alas ! it is in a wilderness- 
corner, — dry, thirsty, and waterless. Here there is no green spot to 
refresh the eye of the traveller ; no company of believers whose 
tcl^is would rejoice the heart of one who reverences the laws of 
the King of Zion. Here are no currents [palge-maim) of first-rate 
purity, drawn forth from the sacred fountain to diffuse freshness 
and verdure all around. The fountains themselves are almost entirely 
shut up and forgotten. Could I but direct the feet of any thirsty 
traveller to them, I could nevertheless yet submit to a still longer 
deprivation of the spiritual advantages resulting from the communion 
of the faithful. I desire to be thankful that I have constant access 
to these fountains myself, and that I am privileged to drink of their 
healing and invigorating waters. The study of the Scriptures, the 
more it is persevered in, and the more closely it is pursued, opens 
up the more refined pleasures, — ennobles, and sanctifies the soul. The 
discoveries also, which we cannot but make in t&e course of these 
researches, are oftentimes no less humbling than surprising. Many 
a time I have been struck with a sense of my own ignorance, when 
falling on the meaning of a passage which long ago ought to have 
lain plain to my view. . . . 

* Mouth to mouth : see Numb. xii. 8. 



COPENHAGEN. 115 

" But I must conclude. You evidently see I am on the stretch for 
matter, else I would not have dared to write you so incoherent a 
scrawl. I rather ventured to avail myself of the present opportunity, 
that you may see I still have you in remembrance, and that I 
assure myself of your friendship's hiding my faults. I beg you will 
give my sincere Christian regards to Mrs. Aikman, Mrs, Robertson, 
and all friends ; and commending you to Him whose grace is all- 
sufficient for you, and who hath promised to keep you as the apple 
of His eye, 

" I remain, 
" Your ever affectionate brother in the Lord Jesus, 
" Ebenezer Henderson." 

In the printing business, there were annoyances as to 
time, besides those that arose as to expenditure. The 
work-people, since the raising of a regiment from among 
them, had " acquired such habits of indolence and dissipa- 
tion, that they did not accomplish in a whole week what 
they had formerly been used to do in two or three days." 
The New Testament, of which 5000 extra copies were 
being printed in consequence of an additional grant from the 
Society at home, was put into the hand of a second printer ; 
but even this did not accelerate the work so much as was 
desired. And when the Testaments were ready, it was 
not found possible to forward them, as the difficulty of 
getting a licensed ship,* or of venturing them on board an 
unlicensed one, interposed an effectual hindrance. 

* After the breaking out of the war in 1807, there was a risk that the 
Icelanders would perish of starvation, if wholly cut off from communica- 
tion with their mother-country ; and in consideration of this, licences 
were granted by the English government to Danish vessels thither - 
bound ; and the trade, under such protection, met with no serious 
impediment, though, as in the present instance, occasional inconvenience 
ensued. For the humane measure thus adopted, the Icelanders were 
indebted to the friendly intervention of Sir Joseph Banks, whose name 
and title consequently became "familiar in their mouths as household 
words." "Is Sir Joseph Banks still living r" was the question repeat- 
edly put to the traveller as he went on his way from farm to farm. (Bible 
Society's 11th Report, p. 367.) 



116 SECOND JOURNEY. 

May 11, 1813. 

" None of the Icelandic Testaments have yet been sent off. Only- 
one ship has gone this season ; and she is taken, and carried into 
Gottenburgh. The gentleman who has kindly promised to take 
them all for me is waiting to see what will be the result of the 
negotiations with England. No licences are granted this year ; and 
he will not run the risk of sailing without one. Another merchant 
here has promised to get the Greenlandic Testaments forwarded.* 
They are at the binding, and will soon be ready. I cannot say how 
you found it : but certain I am, from the difficulties I have had in 

getting Mr. to move a few necessary steps, that had I not 

come here, the Testaments would never have been bound. He is a 
good man, but so exceedingly slow and timid." 

And again : — 

August 7, 1813. 

" After all my pains in getting the remaining copies of the New 
Testament ready for sending to Iceland, and those in the Green- 
landic tongue for Greenland, it is not in my power to forward a 
single box. Bibles and Testaments, which I have ready to send to 
Norway, are also detained for want of an opportunity. A number 
which I sent off for Bornholm have been taken by an English 
cruizer. Thus, you see, I am completely manacled, and can only 
wait till the Sovereign Disposer of events gives another turn to 
political affairs." 

There was an advantage secured, however, by Mr. Hen- 
derson's being further detained in Copenhagen ; that, viz., 
which consisted in his superintendence of the press-work, 
after it had been revised by a native. His knowledge of 
Icelandic was already such as rendered his services valu- 
able ; while his acquaintance with the original gave him 
an advantage the corrector of the press did not enjoy. A 
reviewer in the Copenhagen Literary Journal had attacked 
the reprint of the New Testament, as issued in 1807. 

* These were 300 Testaments purchased for gratuitous distribution, in 
consequence of instructions received from London. They were trans- 
mitted to Greenland at a later date, and received with great thankful- 
ness. (See 12th Report, Appendix, p. 257.) 



COPENHAGEN. 117 

Mr. Henderson had carefully examined the statements of 
the critic, and knew how to discern between the true and 
the false, how to adopt such hints as were valuable, while 
paying no heed to the allegations that were mistaken or 
exaggerated. Thus he writes : — 

" What the Reviewer says is true of many places of the Old 
Testament ; and I cannot but think that it was of the Lord that I 
have of late addicted myself to the study of the Hebrew, that I 
might be in some measure able to judge whether the original be 
fairly rendered in the present edition of the Old Testament. You 
would not believe the blunders it contains. I make no alteration, 
however, except in cases of a pressing nature. The He viewer is 
also right about the editions, and in what he says about the New 
Testament hindering an improved version. Happily for Iceland, it 
will hinder the introduction of a Neologian one. I have conferred a 
good deal of the New Testament with the Greek, and find it on the 
whole literal. Some of the emendations, however, are too corn- 
men tatory. For instance, " utlegingar gafu" is by no means a trans- 
lation of 7rpo(J)7j7eia, although I am convinced it expresses what is 
intended by the Greek word in the passage." 

It is not uninteresting to know that the author of the 
critique in question afterwards became a cordial friend to 
Mr. Henderson, and was a zealous promoter of the Bible- 
cause in Iceland. 

The two years which were thus spent by him in the 
Danish capital, would have been tedious, had there not 
been great facilities in that city for the continuance of 
other labours. The translation of " The Warning Voice," 
and " The End of Time " into Icelandic, was effected 
beneath his eye, as also that of the tract entitled " Serious 
Considerations" into Danish. In preparation for his con- 
templated journey, he was studying the language and 
ecclesiastical history of Iceland : — 

" As to my progress with the language, I cannot say much. I 
have read through ' Kristni-saga,' or The History of the Introduc- 
tion of Christianity into the Island. There are some curious things 



118 SECOND JOURNEY. 

in it, but its contents in general are very trivial. Baptism was 
performed by immersion ; however, the Icelanders wisely availed 
themselves of what Nature had provided for them, the warm baths. 
They declared they would not fara i halt vatn! I am now reading 
\ Hungurvaka,' which takes up the story where the other leaves 
off. I am often surprised at the richness of the language ; and it 
is amusing to find such a number of English and Scotch words in 
it. You wish to have an historical account of the Iceland Bible. 
This I could furnish you with ; but it might be better if you would 
wait till I send you one from the press. I have already filled four 
folio sheets,* and yet I have not got further than Bishop Gudbrand's 
Edition of the Bible, 1584. I have here every advantage I could 
possibly wish. I have been often at the Library, where I have 
found the first Icelandic Testament, etc." 

In a letter, dated, Dee. 1, 1812, we read further : — 

" I am pursuing my study of the Icelandic, Every other day 
my teacher comes to me. I am at present reading ' Orkneyinga 
Saga.' My Hebrew I am prosecuting vigorously. A Morocco 
Jew, who has a beautiful pronunciation, reads a Hebrew chapter 
with me the one day, and I read an English chapter with him the 
other. I begin to speak a little with him in Hebrew. What would 
you have thought, — I fell in the other day with a capital work by 
our well-known countryman Thomas Boston, of Etterick, on the 
Hebrew Stigmatologyt (edited by the famous Mills), for the enor- 
mous price of one rix-dollar, or about twopence sterling, i. e. at the 
present rate of exchange." 

* The basis, no doubt, of the first Appendix to his " Iceland," vol. ii. 
pp. 249—306. 

f Mr. Haldane's students were taught the Hebrew without points, 
Wilson's Grammar, which was then used as a class-book by Professor 
Moodie, in the University of Edinburgh (see pref. to fifth edition, 8vo, 
London, 1824), being the one supplied for their use. Mr. Henderson, 
however, had become a punctist before 1811, as is evident from the 
Hebrew citations in English character that occur from time to time in 
his letters ; and he was ever afterwards a strong advocate for the use of 
the vowel-marks, though he never went to the full length of the writer 
above-mentioned, who vindicated even for the pause-accents "the signa- 
ture of a divine hand." The "Tractatus Stigmologicus Hebrseo-Bibli- 
cus," Amsterdam, 1738, was a posthumous publication in Latin. An 
interesting account of it is given in Boston's Life, where we read minute 
details as to the progress of the MS. from 1716 to its completion in 1727. 
The author there narrates how the first dawning of the idea broke in upon 



COPENHAGEN. 119 

Such was not the only cheap purchase he made at this 
season. Not unfrequently has he been heard to tell of an 
old duodecimo volume, for which he gave what at that 
crisis was worth no more than the incomputable part of 
an English farthing, and for which, long afterwards, he 
received eighteenpence from a second-hand bookseller in 
London ! It was an unparalleled investment, but happily 
woke up in his mind no rage for speculation. 

While thus a buyer and a reader of books, he likewise 
made his debut as an author. It Avas only a pamphlet, 
yet no unimportant one, which he now put forth. He had 
been planning a more extended work, which he thus de- 
scribes : — 

" The little molehill called ' the Icelandic Bible History' is rapidly 
rising into a mighty mountain, which may perhaps on a future day 
obtain the name of Northern Biblical Researches. It will contain a 
particular historical account of all the different translations of the 
Scriptures, or parts of the Scriptures, in the Northern languages ; 
biographical sketches of the translators or promoters of the same ; 
a translational exhibition of a certain notable portion of the Old 
Testament, and another of the New, in parallel columns; and a 
critical examination of the different renderings of the more cele- 
brated passages," etc. etc. 

him when reading Cross's Taghmical Art, and how he was led to some 
"sweet discoveries" of Scripture-truth "by the means of the accentua- 
tion ;" how he gained further insight into the system, pursuing the study 
of the accents "like fire," so that he "could hardly get his heart from 
off them ;" how he fell in with Wasmuth, but found " so many turnings, 
and windings, and heaps of irregulars in that learned man's account of 
them," that he laid aside the volume as less helpful than personal 
research ; how he prayed and worked, and worked and prayed, till he 
came to take it as his " polestar" that the " true construction of the words 
of the text is to be determined by their accentuation as the rule thereof 
to us, and not the power and value of the accents by what seems to us 
the construction of the words ;"■ — nay, even that " a happy explication or 
genuine representation of the nature of the accentuation of the Hebrew 
Bible, in its natural and artless contrivance, is the only thing wanting to 
procure it the same awful regard with the other parts of the sacred text." 



120 SECOND JOURNEY. 

This scheme was never carried out in its entirety ; yet 
it is interesting to find ourselves thus behind the scenes, 
in a position where, as we mentally turn over the leaves 
of the folio that was im Werclen, we can note the several 
fragments which were actually given to the public, — either 
in an isolated form, as in the one immediately to be noticed, 
or by incorporation with some more portable and popular 
work, such as those on Iceland and on Russia ; while, in- 
terspersed throughout the whole, we perceive the valuable 
materials, which so largely contributed to fashion and fur- 
nish the mind of the Scripture-exegete. 

The treatise on "Hans Mikkelsen"* was selected for 
immediate publication, in consequence partly of the hope 
that its appearance at this time would create a renewed 
zeal for the promulgating of the Danish Scriptures, and 
partly because of the interest which it had awakened in 
the mind of a literary friend, who requested that it might 
be brought out under his auspices. The request was a 
proof of extraordinary candour on the one side, and of 
successful investigation on the other. The gentleman in 
question had stated, in one of his printed works, that the 
first Danish translation was " a daughter of the Vulgate, — 
the only Latin text at that time known." In a long con- 
versation with him, Mr. Henderson satisfactorily disproved 
this, by showing that the version of Erasmus, having ap- 
peared in 1516, 1519, and 1522, had been prior to the 
publication of Mikkelsen's earliest edition, which left the 
Leipzig press in 1524; and also by exhibiting a collation 
of passages in which the newer Latin renderings had 
been followed in preference to those of the Vulgate. 

* A Dissertation on Hans Mikkelsen's (or the first Danish) Translation 
of the New Testament, by Ebenezer Henderson. 4 to, Copenhagen, 1813, 
p. 26. 



mikkelsen's testament. 121 

" Ja, det er aldeles afgiorende/' — " Aye, that settles the 
matter completely ! " was the frank avowal that the 
reasoning had amounted to a demonstration. 

The pamphlet consists of twenty-six pages. The first 
portion is historical and descriptive; the second, critical 
and argumentative. The possession of the Danish New 
Testament, in the vernacular, is shown to have originated 
with Christian II., a monster unmitigatedly cruel and 
depraved, if we are to believe in toto the chronicles 
handed down by popish historians, hut a prince whom 
the later annalists of the kingdom are inclined to acquit 
of such unqualified delinquency. Obliged to flee his 
dominions, the unfortunate exile, — for unfortunate he 
was, whether that doom had been justly or unjustly 
incurred, — -took measures more active and successful than 
he had yet done* for the promotion of his country's 
spiritual welfare. Be his motives what they might — (and 
there are those who ascribe his zeal for the Reformation 
only to a revengeful feeling against the Papal see for 
thwarting him in his career of crime) — he entrusted the 
execution of his design to his secretary, Mikkelsen. The 
latter had voluntarily accompanied the royal family into 
Flanders, where under the protection of their relative, the 
Stadtholderinn, Margaret of Austria and Burgundy, they 
found a retreat from the rebel's sword, though not from the 
strife of words and the hostilities of a covert persecution. 
The preface written by Hans is given in the Dissertation 
at full length, both in the original and in a translated 
form. It is also clearly shown that the king had en- 
joined no more than the translating of the Evangels, 
including therewith the book of Acts, which was regarded 

* In 1515, Pedersen had, under his sanction, published in Danish the 
Gospels and Epistles for the year. 



122 SECOND JOURNEY. 

as a supplementary part of Luke's Gospel. The Epistles 
and Apocalypse were undertaken by Mikkelsen of his 
own accord ; and hence, it is argued, feeling less con- 
strained in this portion of his task, he was emboldened in 
the latter half of his version to follow the German more 
frequently than the Latin.* 

A favourable notice of this brochure appeared in the 
Dansk Litter atur-Tideiide^o. 22, (1813.) It opens with 
expressions of surprise that an Englishman should at such 
a time be found in the Danish metropolis, studying the 
history of Danish literature, — an evidence, no less accept- 
able than rare, of that bond whereby science and religion 
can, even amid the devastations of war, unite the inhabit- 
ants of Christian Europe each to each. After alluding to 
the well-known purpose of the author's residence in Copen- 
hagen in behalf of the Bible Society, the reviewer adds : 
es Scarcely could that community have chosen any one 
more fit to carry out its beneficent purpose in the North 
than Herr Henderson, whose intimate acquaintance with 
the Northern languages, and indefatigable zeal for the dif- 
fusion of the Holy Scriptures are discernible in the above- 
named treatise." The nature of the publication is then 
set forth, its research and accuracy commended, and its 
argument justified. "Det synes ikke at noget kan indvendes 
mod denne af Forf. vel understottede Mening ;" i. e. " It 
does not appear that any objection can be taken against 
this ably-sustained opinion of the author." One criticism 
is made, viz. that whereas the author traces a commixture 



* There are some who, with Dr. Stebbing (Church Hist., 1842, vol. i. 
p. 489), conclude" that the Gospels and Acts were translated by some other 
hand ; but the theory of a task in part delegated, and in part spontaneous, 
is not incapable, perhaps, of accounting for the difference of style, and 
for the independent tone of that preface which bears Mikkelsen's name. 



mikkelsen's testament. 123 

of Swedish dialect with Hans Mikkelsen's Danish, a cir- 
cumstance which he supposes to have "been attributable to 
his having been the burgomaster of Malmo, the reviewer 
considers it by no means impossible that in the days of 
Christian II. the inhabitants of Scania and those of 
Zealand may have been homoglot. 

Despite the engrossing nature of such studies, Mr. 
Henderson became neither an egotist nor a recluse. He 
had a heart to sympathize with friends at a distance,, and 
found time to express that feeling by consolatory words in 
their seasons of sore bereavement. Witness the following 
to Mr. Paterson on the loss of his first wife : — 

Copenhagen, April 6, 1813. 

" My very dear Brother, — I yesterday received your very 
afflicting letter of the 19th ult., and cannot describe the effect it 
produced upon me. I was obliged to lay it down twice before I 
could finish it. The fountain which has been dry ever since I missed 
my eldest nephew in 1810, on my return to my brother's house, again 
gushed out tears to the memory of one who was dearer to me than 
a sister. Were it practicable, I would undertake a pilgrimage that 
I might weep over her grave. But the words of the angel forcibly 
strike my mind : ' He is not here : for He is risen, as He said.' Our 
deceased friend hath only left her clayey tabernacle behind her. 
She herself is no longer within the precincts of mortality. She is 
risen ; she is exalted, and now reigns in glory with Christ Jesus. 
Freed from all sorrow and frailty and pain, — completely freed from 
sin, the fruitful cause of all these, — with what unutterable delight 
she now stands on the sea of glass, and having exchanged her earthly 
harp, which with so much pleasure she tuned to the praise of her 
Redeemer, for ' the harp of God,' she now sings the song of Moses, 
the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb. She hath entered 
the land of peace and life and love : she hath entered into the joys 
of her Lord. ... And, oh ! with what delight will she not receive 
the information which is published at the court of heaven by the 
messengers of our glorious King, when from time to time they 
announce the glorious effects resulting from the Russian Bible Society, 
yea, and the good effects attending your exertions to the end of your 
days in the service of Christ. 



124 SECOND JOURNEY. 

" I know, my dear brother, that you must be sensible of a void 
which no earthly object can fill ; but I know also, that you are 
acquainted with Him who can fill it. And oh ! what a mercy ! this 
hath happened to bring you nearer to Himself, to quicken you in His 
ways, and render you more useful in promoting His cause in the 
world. It is my earnest prayer that He would richly impart the 
consolations of His Spirit to the solace of your troubled heart, and 
grace to improve the trying dispensation to His glory. My sympathy, 
which you know you have, can avail you little ; but the sympathy 
of Jesus, our merciful High Priest, you will find effectual. He bare 
our griefs, and carried our sorrows, and He has a fellow-feeling of 
our infirmities. To His grace I commend you. I hope soon to hear 
from you, and to be informed of your experience of the Divine 
faithfulness in the fulfilment of His promise, that as thy day, so shall 
thy strength be. 

"lam, 
" Your affectionately sympathizing brother, 
" Ebenezer Henderson." 

The interests of neighbour-lands were promoted, and the 
efforts of brother-Christians were seconded. At the in- 
stance of the excellent Mr. Van der Smissen of Altona, he 
wrote to Edinburgh in behalf of Northern Germany, begging 
for its inhabitants a grant of Psalters in the vernacular. 
He represents the afflicted condition into which the ravages 
and anxieties of war had plunged them, and then asks— 

" What more essential service can we do them, than put that book 
into their hands, which more than any other is calculated to sweeten 
the bitterness of adversity, and fill the desponding mind with joyful 
hopes amid the darkest hours of sorrow ? — that book, which excites 
and gratifies our tenderest and finest feelings, by supplying us with 
strains of the most exalted devotion, and pouring into the soul the 
healing balm of divine consolation !" * 

Social intercourse was also maintained with friends near 
at hand, and the spiritual interests of those over whom he 
had watched, and could still watch, both in Copenhagen 
and Elsineur, were perseveringly heeded : — 

* Missionary Magazine, vol. xviii. (1813), p. 550. 



COPENHAGEN. 125 

" I have had several conversations with Mrs. , and begin to 

entertain hopes that she may have found the Saviour. She has all 
along been going about to establish a righteousness of her own, and 
I assure you it has been no easy matter to get her to abandon the 
ideas, or at least the expressions, do, and endeavour to doT 

" Mr. G , I am sorry to say, is beginning to lose hopes of the 

success of his plan. In these hard times he has enough to do to 
make both ends meet. I hope something will cast up for him. I 
have also some hopes that these temporal troubles will be the means 
of leading him to think more seriously on eternal things." 

New acquaintanceships were formed, and these were 
made serviceable to the great cause he was employed to 
advocate : — 

" I have formed several interesting acquaintances since my arrival 
here, of whom the principal are Professor Thorlacius,* a descend- 
ant of Gudbrand Thorlakson, who first furnished the Icelanders 
with the whole Bible. He is an excellent man, and takes a deep 
interest in the cause of religion. Also the Divinity-Professor 
Moller ;f Professors NyerupJ and Werlauff.§ I have found quite a 
home at the Rev. Mr. Manthey's, an old German minister. He was 
the first I heard preach the gospel here, and really I might easily 
have been persuaded that it was Luther arisen from the dead. His 
manner and doctrine completely exemplified the idea I had formed 
of the Reformer. ... I have also a warm friend in the Rev. Mr. 
Goricke. He was in Paris during the Revolution, and only left it 
about three years ago, when he got a call to the Garrison Church 

* There were two Thorlaciuses, father and son, both eminent critical and 
antiquarian scholars. The elder, Skule Thorlacius was still living ; but 
there is reason to believe that the one above referred to was the son, Prof. 
Bbrge (Birgerus) Thorlacius, who at a later period became one of the 
Danish Bible Society Committee. 

f There were two Divinity-Professors of this name, as will appear from 
a subsequent letter. 

% Prof. Rasmus Nyerup, distinguished among other attainments for 
his collection of proverbs, his edition of old Danish poems, and his con- 
tributions to lexicography. 

§ Prof. Erich Christian "Werlauff is known as the author and editor of 
various historical and geographical monographs, and as the main compiler 
of the folio volumes that catalogue the books which are found in the Royal 
library of Copenhagen. 



126 SECOND JOURNEY. 

as German preacher. I cannot express how much I esteem him. I 
always hear him and Mr. Manthey, when they preach. Mr. Goricke 
has a considerable share of natural eloquence." 

An interesting account is given of Dr. Steinkopff's 
preaching at the above church, in November, 1812 : — 

" Our dear friend Steinkopff passed this way about three weeks ago, 
and favoured us with his company for about eight days. I have 
every reason to believe that his visit has not been in vain. His con- 
versations with several persons of high rank relative to the worth of 
the Holy Scriptures, and the necessity of their circulation and pe- 
rusal in order to the true happiness of a man in his individual, social, 
and political relations, cannot but have been attended by salutary 
consequences. We were favoured with two sermons from him, In 
the forenoon, he preached in Hellig Geist's Church, and exhibited 
Christ as the wisest Teacher, the greatest Wonder-worker (Wunder- 
thater), the holiest Pattern, and the almighty Saviour and perfect 
Atonement of a sinful world. It was in the afternoon, however, 
that he excelled. He then preached in the Garrison Church, and his 
sermon was, from beginning to end, every way worthy of the Secre- 
tary of the Bible Society. Immediately after singing the second 
hymn, he began by observing that many useful books had been put 
into the hands of mankind both in ancient and modern times, but 
that of ail that had ever been published none was to be compared to 
one Book which generally went under the name of the Bible, or the 
Holy Scriptures. It is impossible to describe the effect produced 
upon the congregation. Not so much as an atom moved from its 
place which by its concussion with other particles of matter could 
have obstructed the gracious sounds which issued from his lips. It 
was as the silence of death. The audience looked to the pulpit with 
amazement as if they stood in doubt whether it was occupied with 
a man or an angel. Having finished his short introductory address, 
he gave out a verse which directly bore upon the subject, and then 
preached from 2 Tim. iii. 15. In his discourse he showed that it 
was the duty of all to esteem, peruse, follow, and circulate the Holy 
Scriptures. After the sermon, Mr. Goricke, for whom he preached, 
put up a most sensible and pathetic prayer from the altar. It was 
evident he had caught a portion of the caloric." 

Of Bishop Miinter's kindness, the following record is 
preserved : — 



COPENHAGEN. 127 

"Not long after my arrival, the Bishop went on a visitation 
through Zealand. Previous, however, to his leaving the city, I paid 
him my respects twice, and was received with the utmost frankness ; 
the plans of the Bible Society were highly commended.* I was 
honoured one afternoon with a visit from him, when he rummaged 
all my books, and took some away with him. . . . The first time I 
saw him after his return was at a book-auction. He reached his 
hand across the table, and asked how I did ; and as he was in con- 
tact with somebody for a rare Bible, he cried out, If it was Mr. 
Henderson that bade ? On being answered in the negative, he bade 
on. Last night as I was walking down the street leading to the 
auction, he was coming up with two books under his arm. 'Oh,' 
said he, ' there is nothing worth going for ;' and taking me by the 
lapell of the coat, said, ' Come home with me.' 1 did so, saw his 
library, and ultimately he himself broached the business. I subjoined 
a few observations tending to point out the extensive utility of such 
an institution, and concluded by informing him of the proposal made 
by my Constituents. ' £500 ! that was noble indeed !' He then men- 
tioned the deep, very deep interest he took in the affair, his earnest 
wishes to see it brought about; but in the present state of things he 
did not conceive it possible; as soon as peace came, it should be the 
first thing, etc. etc. I endeavoured as much as I could to lessen the 
mountain of difficulty, and mentioned the present course of exchange 
as remarkably favourable. He then mentioned that he could not 
take the lead. I replied, we did not suppose that he perhaps with 
propriety could ; but his countenance and support on its being formed 
we laid our account with. These, he assured, would not be wanting ; 
' Only Peace ! Peace !'.... In short, the conversation was the most 
encouraging I have had since I saw you. The subject dropped by our 
both agreeing, in the mean time, till we saw how things went, to 
prepare the way ; and he particularly referred me to our friend 
T , who, I assure you, takes a warm interest in the Bible plan." 

In March, 1814, Mr. Henderson received a summons to 
hasten into Sweden, there to meet his friend Mr. Paterson, 
who was on his homeward way from St. Petersburg. They 
spent a fortnight together, enjoying each other's society, and 

* Bishop Miinter had already been in communication with the mem- 
bers of the Bible Society, having written to the Archbishop of Canterbury 
a letter expressive of his gratitude and his good wishes ; but he had 
formed as yet no design for the establishment of a similar institution in 
his own land. See Owen's Hist, of Bible Society, vol. ii. pp. 217 — 220. 



1£8 SECOND JOURNEY. 

that of the Christians in Gottenburgh, in which town they 
were glad to find that a Bible Society had recently been 
established.* On leaving Gottenburgh, he writes, " The 
sun shone, the larks sang, and my soul rejoiced in the God 
of my salvation." On the road between Quillibe and 
Halmstadt, he met with an interesting incident, of which 
he forwarded an account to a friend who inserted it in the 
Scotch periodical that had taken the place of the Mission- 
ary Magazine. It proves that his intercourse with clerical 
and university magnates had not made him unmindful of 
the worth of immortal souls in the lower walks of life. Of 
the post-boy who drove him, he thus writes : — 

. . . . " The boy was only about fourteen years of age, but dis- 
covered a degree of intelligence and knowledge of the Scriptures, 
seldom to be met with among his equals in rank and years, in these 
northern parts of Europe. Immediately on leaving the station, I 
took occasion, from the mildness and serenity of the evening, to 
make an observation on the goodness of God, as displaying itself in 
a great variety of ways towards the children of men. As I did not 
expect any particular answer, you may judge how agreeably I was 
surprised, when I found the boy taking up the subject, and replying, 
— ' Yes, indeed, Sir, the goodness of God is inconceivable.' ' It 
gives me pleasure,' I proceeded, ' to find that you are not altogether 
unacquainted with His goodness; can you tell me what is the greatest 
proof God ever gave of it to mankind ?' 

" ' His holy word, Sir.' 

"'Why, certainly, that is one of the principal gifts we have 
received from Him ; but is there not a greater ?' 

" ' Yes ; His only-begotten Son.' 

" ' You are right : God could not have bestowed on us a greater 

* For an account of its formation, Nov. 4, 1813, see Owen's Hist, of the 
Bible Society, vol. ii. p. 389, etc. Dr. Gustavus Brunnmark, in reporting 
its establishment, wrote : "I found the minds of many already prepared 
for this good work ; inasmuch as the Annual Reports of the British and 
Foreign Bible Society, and the high reputation of the Rev. Ebenezer 
Henderson, who had upon many occasions advocated its cause, had been 
powerful means in the hands of Providence to pave the way." (British 
and Foreign Bible Society's 10th Annual Report, p. 148.) 



QTJILLIBE TO HALMSTADT. 129 

gift than His Son ; and next to Him is the Bible, which makes us 
acquainted with Him. I hope you read the Bible ?' 

" ' Always, when I can get an opportunity. Through the week I 
am obliged to work hard, and can never find time ; but of a Sabbath 
evening I always read in it, when none of the rest of the family are 
perusing it.' 

" ' Then you have not a Bible of your own ?' 

" ' No, Sir ; it belongs to my master, yet he does not hinder me 
from reading in it when I have time.' 

" ' It appears from what you say that you are at service ?' 

" < Yes, Sir.' 

" ' Are your parents alive ?' 

" ' No ; my mother died when I was two years of age, and my 
father when I was seven.' 

" ' Is it not encouraging, however, to reflect that God is your Father ?' 

" ' True, Sir, He is the proper Father, and besides Him there is 
no father, either in heaven, or upon earth ; those who gave me 
birth have left me, but He will never leave me ; — He is so kind and 
merciful, I need never be afraid of any want ; He will always pro- 
vide for me.' 

" ' I am happy to see you put your confidence in God ; but can you 
tell me what moves God to be so kind to you ?' 

" ' Oh ! Sir, nothing but His own goodness.' 

" ' You have no idea, then, that the goodness of God depends on 
your own deservings ?' 

" ' The Lord have mercy upon me if it did !' 

" ' But do not you suppose there may be some people in the world 
that are so good, that they merit the Divine favour ?' 

" ' No ; the Bible says they have all sinned and broken the law of 
God.' 

" ' Is God a holy and just Being ?' 

" < Yes." 

" ' It follows of course that He must hate all sin ?' 

" < Surely.' 

" ' How is it possible, in this case, that any sinner can be justified 
before God ? Is any one sufficiently righteous to be able to stand 
before God on the footing of his own works ?' 

" ' No ; there is none righteous ; no, not one.' 

" ' By whose righteousness, then, must we be saved ?' 

" ' By the righteousness of the Saviour.' 

" ' Can you tell me wherein the righteousness of Christ consists ?' 

" ' He suffered for us. He suffered for our sins.' 

" ' Had he no sins of his own to suffer for ?' 

K 



130 SECOND JOURNEY. 

" Here the boy was somewhat surprised, but recollecting himself, 
went on : 'If He had any, He must have suffered for them likewise ; 
but I do not suppose He had any. No, indeed, when I think of it, 
he was conceived by a pure Virgin of the Holy Ghost, and therefore 
could have no sin.' 

" ' Did Christ die in the same way that men in general die ?' 

"'No.' 

" ' Where or how did He die ?' 

" c On the cross.' 

" ' What became of Him after He died ?" 

" ' He was buried.' 

" ' Did He remain in the grave ?' 

" ' No ; He rose again.' 

" ' Where did He go to after His resurrection ? did He remain on 
earth ?' 

" ' No ; He ascended up to heaven; where He now sitteth at the 
right hand of God the Father.' 

" ' Will He ever come again to this world ?' 

" ' Yes ; Pie will come to judge it at the last day.' 

" ' Christ is the Judge, then, as well as the Saviour of the world ?' 

" ' Yes ; and there is no judge like him. Other judges profess to 
be righteous, but He is the righteous Judge. None can escape His 
judgment.' 

" ' It gives me pleasure,' I repeated, ' to find that you are so well 
acquainted with these things. But would you not like to have a 
Bible or a New Testament of your own, that you might read more 
about them, and be made better acquainted with them ?' 

" ' Oh yes, Sir, but I am not able to buy one ; it is so dear, and I 
have only five dollars a year from my master, which hardly keeps 
me in clothing.' 

" ' Well,' I replied, ' as you manifest a desire to read the word of 
God, and as I have every reason to hope you will make good use of 
a New Testament, though it is not in my power at present to pro- 
cure you one, as I am going out of the kingdom, yet I will write to 
one of my friends in Gottenburgh to send one to you.' 

" ' God bless you, Sir, for your kindness,' was the only answer he 
could make, his heart was so overcome with joy and gratitude. 

" We had now proceeded within view of a gentleman's house, 
where I had met with the most hospitable treatment when on my 
journey north. In company with two fellow-travellers, I had with 
the greatest difficulty passed immense wreaths of snow, and found 
ere 1 had got half way to the next station, that light as the sledge 
was, there was no possibility of proceeding. To think of returning 



QUILLIBE TO HALMSTADT. 131 

was equally out of the question, as the horses were quite knocked 
up. A country-gentleman, in the vicinity of whose house we were 
thus situated, seeing- our distress, came out and kindly invited us to 
take shelter under his roof till we saw how the weather and roads 
might turn out. We accepted of the invitation, and spent a day and 
a night at his house, and were quite overloaded with kindness by the 
whole family. They seemed to feel the most exquisite luxury in 
the exercise of hospitality 

" On [again] arriving at the house, I made the boy stop till 
[i. e. while] I stepped in once more to thank my kind benefactors. 
We had not exchanged many words, when the gentleman produced 
a book, and said, ' Here is a Swedish New Testament, which one of 
you forgot [when] with us.' I immediately recognised it as belong- 
ing to Mr. H of Gottenburgh, and could not but break out into 

exclamations of wonder and surprise at the coincidence of events 
under the Divine government ; adding, that I would give the New 
Testament to the boy who drove me, and be responsible for it to its 
previous owner.* 

" When we set out again, I asked the boy if he recollected what 
I had promised him ? ' You had the goodness, Sir, to promise me a 
New Testament.' ' Well,' I said, ' and I have now got one for you.' 
' It cannot be possible,' was his reply. ' Indeed it is,' said I, and 
told him the circumstances of the case. ' It has been ordered of 
God !' he exclaimed, and declared he could not be sufficiently thank- 
ful for the gift : ' but, Sir,' he added, ' I cannot possibly think of 
taking it, except you write a note certifying that you have given me 
it ; else people might suppose I had got it in an improper way.' 
This I promised to do on our arrival at the inn. 

" We now arrived at the town ; and after getting my baggage 
conveyed into my room, I wrote a few words on the inside of the 
boards of the New Testament, and gave it to the boy, who kissed my 
hand, and wept for joy, on receiving so precious a treasure. 

" What a concurrence of circumstances to effect the Divine 
purpose ! I was to undertake a journey to Gottenburgh in the 
midst of the severest winter ever remembered ; the roads were to be 
impassable ; we were to stop exactly at that part of the road where 
the gentleman above-mentioned resided ; he was to open his door for 
our reception ; one of my companions was to have a Swedish Testa- 

* Writing to Mr. Paterson, he says, "The Swedish New Testament 
was Mr. Hedberg's. Give him my compliments, and tell him to debit me 
for it." It can hardly be needful to say that the Testament would not 
have been thus disposed of, without the moral certainty that such a course 
would meet with the owner's fullest approbation. 



132 SECOND JOURNEY. 

merit with him ; he was to forget it at that particular house ; the 
boy, for whom Providence was working, was to have his turn in 
driving the evening I returned ; he was to drive me, and not a 
traveller who had gone a little way before me ; I was directed to 
say such things in the course of our conversation, as should lead to 
the point ; and ultimately, the New Testament — that book in which 
he delighted to read, and which is able to make him wise unto 
salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus — is put into his 
hand. ' How wonderful are the works of the Lord, his ways are past 
finding out.' It is but a small part we see at present of the con- 
nection between cause and effect ; but ' what we know not now, we 
shall know hereafter.' "* 

It appears that during trie interview at Gottenburgh, a 
suggestion had been made as to the possibility that Mr. 
Henderson, when his tour in Iceland was ended, might 
find Bible-work to do in the regions to the south and east 
of Russia. This plan was to be laid before the Committee 
in London. The mere hint of it was enough to pave the 
way for a new branch of philological study. 

" I have this morning fallen in with the title of a book, ' Ueber 
Georgianische Litteratur. (Wien. 1798),' which I intend commission- 
ing, as also an Armenian and German Grammar, published at Venice. 
You see where my heart is." 

And a fortnight later : — 

" I have begun to the Arabic, and after having familiarized myself 
in some degree with the letters, I find it remarkably easy, the 
structure being so much like the Hebrew, and there being so many 
Hebrew words in it. The Grammar will be an easy task. Its rich- 
ness in words will be the principal difficulty. Bishop Miinter 
assures me the Armenian is one of the most difficult languages of 
any to learn. It is the remains of the ancient Median." 

* Christian Herald, vol. i. (1814), pp. 245 — 248. The closing paragraph 
is very characteristic, as evincing the delight my father took in tracing the 
minutely-intervvrought links in the chain of Providence. Those who have 
heard him preach on "The God of Bethel" (Gen. xxxi. 13) as the God 
of providence ; of communion; of promise; of performance ; and of remem- 
brance, may possibly recall how, in that sermon, he went through the 
histories of Joseph and of Esther, in a mode similar to the above. 



COPENHAGEN. 133 

These new pursuits were only a secondary occupation. 
His main object was the organization of the earliest Bible 
Society in Denmark. This he louged to see effected before 
leaving the country ; and his efforts were not in vain. The 
fundamental laws of the Society in London were translated 
as a platform for the proposed constitution, and were an- 
nexed to a Memorial on the subject, drawn up by Pastor 
Mynster,* which contained a brief survey of Danish Bibli- 
cal translation and diffusion in past times. The " Address," 
for so it was entitled, was printed and put into immediate 
circulation. Mr. Henderson waited on several individuals 
of note, among whom were the Chancellor of the Univer- 
sity, and the celebrated Count Schimmelman, both of whom 
were highly favourable to the object, the latter becoming 
President of the Society. With Bishop Miinter he had a 
two hours' conference, in which every detail of the plan was 
fully explained, and a private meeting appointed for the 
next evening, at which the friends who were espousing the 
cause might have free opportunity of making their indivi- 
dual suggestions as to the measures most expedient to be 
pursued. One of the rooms in the episcopal, palace was 
offered for the purpose, and among those present were 
" Professor Thorlacius, Rector Magniflcus of the University ; 
Dr. E. and Dr. J. Moller, Professors in Divinity; Professor 
Brondsted;f theEtatsraad Thorkelin, the Justitzraad Frost, 

* The Rev. James Peter Mynster, pastor of the "Lady Church,'' and 
author of some highly-esteemed theological Essays (Kleine Theologische 
Schr if ten), became at a subsequent date the son-in-law, and afterwards the 
successor of Bishop Miinter. It was not the first instance of such a suc- 
cession. The Right Rev. Dr. Balle had followed his father-in-law, the 
excellent Bishop Harboe, in the prelatic office. 

f The late Chevalier Peter Oluf Brondsted, Privy Counsellor of Le- 
gation to his Danish Majesty, was a man of extensive erudition, and so 
well-versed alike in classic and Scandinavian lore, that to him was fitly 
entrusted the work of supervising the chronological arrangement of the 



134 SECOND JOUENEY. 

and the Rev. Mr. Mynster." The statutes of the new society- 
were definitely laid down, and nothing remained but to 
select a locale for the first public meeting. The University 
Auditorium and the Consistorial Hall Avere freely offered; 
but neither being thought large enough, the Bishop wrote 
a letter which was signed by all present, and forwarded to 
the Free Masons' Lodge, to request the use of their spacious 
and elegant hall. The governors, who were assembled at 
the very time when the missive reached, granted permission 
without delay. Invitations were despatched to " most of 
the nobility resident in the town, the Magistrates, the 
Professors, the Clergy, the military, and the principal 
merchants." Everything was now in fair train. The 
hopes awakened were of a most exciting nature, and stirred 
even the phlegmatic Danes to warmth of feeling and of 
action. " E see ! naa, hvem skulde have troet det !" — 
e< See now ! well, who would ever have thought it !" was 
the utterance when this preliminary Committee arose from 
their consultation ; — the utterance of one who, a few days 
before, had said in desponding tones, " Now Denmark is 
to be brought to the test : is it possible to get a Bible 
Society established here, as in most other parts of Europe? 
then Denmark may be saved ! but if not, — if she refuses 

specimens in the medal-room of the Rosenborg Slot, comprising 21,000 
Roman coins, not a few Grecian, and a complete series of the national 
coinage from the earliest period of Danish history. He was Professor of 
Philology in the University of Copenhagen, and was author of numerous 
archaeological essays, particularly one on "the Bronzes of Siris." In 1826, 
he published his "Voyages dans la Grece," in which he embodied some 
of the observations which he had made in a tour of Southern Europe, 
Asia Minor, etc., in the years of 1810 — 1813. With aptness in antiquarian 
researches lie conjoined proficiency in aesthetic attainments ; and those who 
have been privileged to hear the Chevalier perform a voluntary on the 
piano, will not easily forget the brilliance and distinctness of his rapid 
execution, and the masterly ease with which his fingers called forth the 
richly powerful harmonies of sound. 



COPENHAGEN. 135 

this last attempt to revive the cause of God, — then all is 
over, — then there remains no prospect but a more dreary 
one than we have yet experienced!" That crisis was now 
overpast, its result had been satisfactory, and the good man 
was able to rejoice with the joy of both a Christian and a 
patriot. It was a joy that found vent in deeds as well as 
in words. " My right hand in folding and addressing these 

letters, was Mr. B , who, seeing the turn things had 

taken, got quite enthusiastic for the object. He stayed a 
complete day from the Exchequer on purpose to help 
me. 5 ' 

The following account of the meeting was addressed to 
Mr. Paterson, then in Edinburgh : — 

Copenhagen, May 29, 1814. 

. . . . " It was about a quarter past five on the 22nd inst., that I got 
to the Free Masons' Lodge. You may conceive what were my feelings 
when I found a large assembly already collected. I had no sooner 
entered, than the first Deputy in the Court of Chancery came up to 

me, and said, ' Come, Mr. H , here is an old gentleman, my 

father-in-law, who wishes so much to see you.' I had often heard 
of him, and read a small pamphlet which he published lately, but 
found in him what far exceeded my expectations, — a true Nathaniel. 
He is upwards of eighty years of age, and only comes to town twice 
a year, on the birthday of his daughter or her husband ; but the 
present occasion was too important not to call for an extraordinary 
visit. . . . 

" The meeting was numerously and brilliantly attended. I suppose 
there might be about two hundred people present. It was honoured 
by the attendance of the Right Hon. Mr. Moesting, Minister of 
Finance, Privy Counsellor Mailing, the Hon. Mr. Cold, First 
Deputy of the Court of Chancery, Admiral L6venorn,the Chancellor 
of the University with most of the Professors, almost all the Clergy, 
and several military gentlemen. We had also one of the reformed 
and one of the Roman Catholic clergymen, and the elder of the 
Moravian Brethren. The business of the evening was opened by 
His Lordship the Bishop of Zealand, in an animated and most 
appropriate speech of half an hour's length, in which he called the 
attention of the audience to the superlative importance of religious 



136 SECOND JOURNEY. 

principle ; the decay of that principle, which for a series of years 
had become so visible ; the sad consequences resulting to religion 
and morality from this decay ; and the best means of removing the 
evil, viz. the more general distribution of the Holy Scriptures, and 
the exciting of a more earnest attention to their contents. He next 
pointed out what the British and Foreign Bible Society had done in 
general; and, in particular, specified their operations with respect to 
Denmark. His Lordship then proceeded to describe the field which 
the Society, that it was now had in contemplation to establish, would 
occupy as the sphere of its exertions : — 

"1. To supply Denmark Proper with Danish Bibles, New Testa- 
ments, or other separate parts of the Scriptures. 

" 2. To procure a supply of German Bibles, and New Testaments, 
for German settlers. 

" 3. To provide for the future exigencies of Iceland. 

"4. For the inhabitants of Greenland. 

" 5. The Creolese, on the West India Islands.* 

" And, lastly, To get the Scriptures, or at least part of the Scrips 
tures, translated and circulated in the Akkraese language, which is 
spoken in the Danish settlements on the Western coast of Africa.f 

" When he had finished, the Rev. Mr. Cold came forward, and 
after expressing his conviction of the importance of the object, moved 
that instead of proceeding the same evening to the election of a 
Committee or office-bearers, application should be made for the Royal 
sanction; and that, in the mean time, the affairs of the Society 
should be conducted by those gentlemen who had taken the business 
first in hand. The motion was supported by Privy Counsellor 
Mailing, and agreed to by the meeting. Meanwhile, the subscrip- 
tions went on, and after they were over, the pro tempore Committee 
proceeded to make up the accounts, and appointed one of their 
number to draw up a memorial to be presented to His Majesty. The 
subscriptions amounted to about 1000 Rigsbank Dollars."* 

* A version in this language had been published at Copenhagen, in 1781, 
at the Royal expense ; but a fresh supply was needed. 

f This sixth item in the plan was never carried into execution. 
Recently, however, the British and Foreign Bible Society have turned 
their attention to the natives of the Guinea coast, and have published a 
part both of the Old and New Testament in the Accra, or as it is now 
commonly called the Ga language. 

% King Frederick VI. was not unwilling to grant the supplication pre- 
sented to him ; and on the obtaining of the royal sanction, another public 
meeting was convened in the month of August following, office-bearers 
were appointed, and the Society nominally instituted. 



ICELAND. 137 

It had been with difficulty that this launching of Den- 
mark's life-ark was effected in the brief interval before the 
traveller's departure for Iceland, — an interval already pre- 
occupied with a sufficient amount of needful preparation 
for the voyage. The freight of Bibles had been subdivided, 
and the several packages forwarded during the spring to 
seven of the principal Icelandic ports, — an arrangement 
adopted by reason of the difficulty that would have attended 
their transmission across the interior of the island. The 
treaty of peace, entered into at Kiel in January, 1814, had 
effectually done away with the restrictions and risks inci- 
dent to the late war; and the Icelandic ship-owners in 
Copenhagen had displayed a patriotic liberality in convey- 
ing the books free of expense. 

On June the 8th, the traveller embarked. The neces- 
sity of waiting some days at Gottenburgh for a Swedish 
convoy, to see the vessel clear of the Norwegian coast, 
enabled a welcome season of intercourse with the people of 
his former charge. A distant glimpse of the Orkneys, unex- 
pectedly obtained by reason of contrary winds that drove 
the ship out of her course, awakened home-longings which 
needed a mighty influence to quell them. But the peace- 
speaking voice was at hand, and He who has promised His 
benediction on those that leave brethren, or sisters, or 
father, or mother, for His sake, was found faithful to His 
promise. After a five weeks' passage, the vessel entered 
the Faxe Fiord, the Danish flag was hoisted in Reykiavik 
to announce that their sail had been descried, and the pilot 
was sent forth to steer them into harbour. The Icelandic 
mode of salutation fell upon the ear as something new and 
strange. " Seel vertu," — Peace be tvith you ; " Drottinn 
blessa thik," — The Lord bless you, were greetings too 
Oriental in their form to escape attention, or to fail of 



138 SECOND JOURNEY. 

exciting interest. The visitor felt that he had arrived 
among a people characterized by much of primitive sim- 
plicity. 

His printed account of Iceland* furnishes every particu- 
lar as to where he went, what he saw, and how much he 
accomplished during the thirteen months that ensued. As 
an authority, that publication is still recognised; but as a 
book of forty years' standing, it is known to comparatively 
few. It may be desirable, therefore, as well as permissible, 
to follow its thread of narrative, and borrow from it such, 
extracts as are essential to the object of the present work. 

Well received by Bishop Vidalin, by his step-son, 
Sysselmand Thorgrimson, by Mr. Knudsen the Danish 
merchant, and several men of note in the Icelandic metro- 
polis, he conferred with them on his future plans. Finding 
that he was too late for the Handelstid, an annual fair or 
summer-market, which proves but a sorry substitute for the 
great national assemblies that formerly met year by year at 
Thingvalla, he determined to start at once on a visitation 
of the chief parishes. The first day after landing was 
occupied with a ride to Garde, the residence of Archdeacon 
Magnussen, with whom he had already established a cor- 
respondence. f To the stranger's astonished eye was pre- 
sented an initial specimen of the utterly chaotic desolation 
wrought by those subterranean fires, which have here from 
time to time emitted their streams of ruin. " From every 
quarter," he writes, "the doleful sounds Tohu va-bhohu 
seemed to reverberate in my ears. "J 

His prolonged tours were three in number, but the first 



* " Iceland, or the Journal of a Residence in that Island." By Ebenezer 
Henderson. In 2 vols. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1818. 
f Missionary Magazine, vol. xviii. (1813), p. 199. 
% Christian Herald, vol. i. (1814), p. 356. 



REYKJAVIK. 139 

of tliem was the most extensive and arduous, comprising 
above 1200 British miles. His actual route, being modified 
by circumstances, was different from that which he had 
projected. It embraced the entire eastern half of the 
island, proceeding for the most part in a diagonal course 
from Reykiavik to the northern central point, then in a 
curved line across to the central east, and finally along all 
the windings of the southern coast back to the starting 
point. This was a perilous undertaking ; and he knew it 
right well. He was aware that his was no charmed life, 
and that the object of his mission was no certain guarantee 
that he should survive its attendant risks. " The Lord be 
with you," so he writes to Mr. Paterson : "He alone knows 
if ever you hear from me more. Oddur Gottshalkson, who 
first translated the New Testament into Icelandic, lost his 
mortal life in one of the rivers. The Lord is my Master, 
and my life will be preserved while He finds it good for me. 
Our great concern is whether we live to live unto the Lord, 
or whether we die to die unto the Lord, so that living or 
dying we may be the Lord's/' So also in a letter to 
England : — 

"The journey will not be without its perils, but my hope is in the 
Lord. To Him I commit my way, and I know He will direct my 
steps. Oh, what comfort that passage in the 139th Psalm affords me 
in my present situation : 'If I take the wings of the morning, and 
dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead 
me, and thy right hand shall hold me.' " 

The route must be more minutely traced, in order to 
present a true picture of the intelligent Christian traveller. 
The 26th of July has arrived ; the preparations are all 
made ; the guide secured ; the baggage-horses loaded, and 
tied one behind the other in a linked cavalcade. The 
company join. A Danish engineer, Captain (afterwards 



140 SECOND JOURNEY. 

Major) Von Scheel ; an English gentleman, named Hodg- 
son ; one of Bishop Vidalin's sons ; and the Bible agent ; — 
these constitute the party. A friend starts with them, but 
he goes only a few miles, — an act of courtesy, a helping on 
the way, that is seldom omitted either by clergyman or 
merchant, who has shown hospitality, or wishes to testify 
good-will. The first day's ride is dreary. 

"For more than five hours we did not see a single house, or 
indeed any living creature except a few golden plovers, which, from 
their melancholy warble, only added to the gloominess of the 
scenery." — Vol. i. p. 26. 

The clear summer-night, which enabled the reading of 
the 103rd Psalm from a small pocket-Bible, as the traveller 
stood at his tent-door, was a refreshment and a restorative. 
The frightful chasm of the Almannagia led to the site 
where the then recently-abrogated Althing had for nearly 
nine centuries held its legislative seances, — the spot where 
paganism had first been publicly abjured, — the meeting- 
place which had served to unite the scattered islanders by 
a bond of national unity. It was not long before a view 
was gained of Hecla's three snow-clad summits in the dis- 
tance ; while, nearer at hand, a few small <( hvers," or 
natural boiling " kettles," attracted attention as they cast 
forth their miniature-jets and curling clouds of steam. But 
these were speedily to be eclipsed, when on the next, the 
third day of their journey, the party halted in view of the 
celebrated Geysers. 

" About thirty-eight minutes past five, we were apprised by low 
reports, and a slight concussion of the ground, that an eruption was 
about to take place ; but only a few jets were thrown up, and the 
water in the bason did not rise above the surface of the outlets. 
Not being willing to miss the very first symptoms of the pheno- 
menon, we kept walking about in the vicinity of the spring, now 
surveying some of the other cavities, and now collecting elegant 



THE GEYSElttf. 141 

specimens of petrified wood, leaves, etc., on the rising ground be- 
tween the Geyser and the base of the hill. At fifteen minutes past 
eight we counted five or six reports, that shook the mound on 
which we stood, but no remarkable jet followed : the water only- 
boiled with great violence, and, by its heavings, caused a number of 
small waves to flow towards the margin of the bason, which, at the 
same time, received an addition to its contents. Twenty-five minutes 
past nine, as I returned from the neighbouring hill, I heard reports 
which were both louder and more numerous than any of the pre- 
ceding, and exactly resembled the distant discharge of a park of 
artillery. Concluding from these circumstances that the long-ex- 
pected wonders were about to commence, I ran to the mound which 
shook violently under my feet, and I had scarcely time to look into 
the bason, when the fountain exploded, and instantly compelled me 
to retire to a respectful distance on the windward side. The water 
rushed up out of the pipe with amazing velocity, and was projected 
by irregular jets into the atmosphere, surrounded by immense 
volumes of steam, which, in a great measure, hid the column from 
the view. The first four or five jets were inconsiderable, not ex- 
ceeding fifteen or twenty feet in height ; these were followed by one 
about fifty feet, which was succeeded by two or three considerably 
lower ; after which came the last, exceeding all the rest in splendour, 
which rose at least to the height of seventy feet. The large stones 
which we had previously thrown into the pipe, were ejaculated to a 
great height, especially one, which was thrown much higher than 
the water. On the propulsion of the jets, they lifted up the water 
in the bason nearest the orifice of the pipe to the height of a foot, 
or a foot and a half, and, on the falling of the column, it not only 
caused the bason to overflow at the usual channels, but forced the 
water over the highest part of the brim, behind which I was stand- 
ing. The great body of the column (at least ten feet in diameter) 
rose perpendicularly, but was divided into a number of the most 
superb curvated ramifications ; and several smaller sproutings were 
severed from it, and projected in oblique directions, to the no small 
danger of the spectator, who is apt to get scalded, ere he is aware, by 
the falling jet. 

" On the cessation of the eruption, the water instantly sunk into 
the pipe, but rose again immediately to about half a foot above the 
orifice, where it remained stationary. All being again in a state of 
tranquillity, and the clouds of steam having left the bason, I entered 
it, and proceeded within reach of the water, which I found to be 
183° of Fahrenheit, a temperature of more than twenty degrees less 
than at any period while the bason was filling, and occasioned, I 



14£ SECOND JOURNEY. 

suppose, by the cooling of the water during its projection into the 
air. 

" The whole scene was indescribably astonishing ; but what inte- 
rested us most, was the circumstance that the strongest jet came 
last, as if the Geyser had summoned all her powers in order to show 
us the greatness of her energy, and make a grand finish before 
retiring into the subterraneous chambers in which she is concealed 
from mortal view. Our curiosity had been gratified, but it was far 
from being satisfied. We now wished to have it in our power to in- 
spect the mechanism of this mighty engine, and obtain a view of the 
springs by which it is put in motion : but the wish was vain ; for 
they lie in ' a tract which no fowl knoweth, and which the vulture's 
eye hath not seen ;' — which man, with all his boasted powers, cannot 
and dare not approach. While the jets were rushing up towards 
heaven with the velocity of an arrow, my mind was forcibly borne 
along with them, to the contemplation of the Great and Omnipotent 
Jehovah, in comparison with whom these and all the wonders 
scattered over the whole immensity of existence, dwindle into abso- 
lute insignificance ; whose Almighty command spake the universe 
into being ; and at whose sovereign fiat the whole fabric might be 
reduced in an instant to its original nothing. Such scenes exhibit 
only ' the hiding of His power.' It is merely the surface of His 
works that is visible. Their internal structure He hath involved in 
obscurity ; and the sagest of the sons of man is incapable of tracing 
them from their origin to their consummation. After the closest and 
most unwearied application, the utmost we can boast of is that we 
have heard a whisper of His proceedings, and investigated the ex- 
tremities of His operations. (Eccles. iii. 10, and Jobxxvi. 14, in the 
Hebrew.)"— Vol. i. pp. 44—48. 

An hundred and forty yards to the South is the Strockr, 
the " New Geyser" of Sir John Stanley, which was in full 
activity at an early hour next morning. Twice that day 
there again were splendid eruptions of the Great Geyser. 
But the climax had not yet "been reached : — 

" The most enrapturing scene that we beheld, was exhibited on 
the morning of the 30th. About ten minutes past five, we were 
roused by the roaring of Strockr, which blew up a great quantity 
of steam ; and when my watch stood at the full quarter, a crash 
took place as if the earth had burst, which was instantaneously 
succeeded by jets of water and spray, rising in a perpendicular 



THE GEYSERS. 143 

column to the height of sixty feet. As the sun happened to be 
behind a cloud, we had no expectation of witnessing any thing more 
sublime than we had already seen ; but Stroekr had not been in 
action above twenty minutes, when the Great Geyser, apparently 
jealous of her reputation, and indignant at our bestowing so much of 
our time and applause on her rival, began to thunder tremendously, 
and emitted such quantities of water and steam, that we could not 
be satisfied with a distant view, but hastened to the mound with as 
much curiosity as if it had been the first eruption we had beheld. 
However, if she was more interesting in point of magnitude, she 
gave the less satisfaction in point of duration, having again become 
tranquil in the course of five minutes ; whereas her less gaudy, but 
more steady companion, continued to play till within four minutes 
of six o'clock." — Vol. i. pp. 54, 55. 

It would not do to tarry longer even amid these un- 
paralleled wonders. Messrs. Hodgson and Vidalin had 
already started on their journey back ; Capt. Von Scheel, 
and Mr. Henderson, with their guide, had to go forward. 
Skirting the western base of the Blafell or Blue Mountain, 
an extinct volcano — its peak enveloped in mists, its slopes 
barren, its ravines filled with snow, — they approached an 
extensive range of Yokuls, or ice-mountains. Here they 
became sensible of a striking contrast : — 

" At the spot on which we now stood, it was in our power to re- 
ceive strong mental impressions either of heat or cold, according to 
the direction in which we turned. When we looked to the west 
and north, we had nothing before us but regions of ever-during ice ; 
whereas, on turning to the south, we were reminded, by the clouds 
of smoke ascending from the Geysers, of the magazines of fire that 
lay concealed in that neighbourhood." — Vol. i. p. 66. 

There was contrast also in the scenery : — 

" At eight o'clock on the morning of the 3rd, we renewed our 
journey across the mountains. The road was very rough and un- 
beaten, and mostly up-hill till about noon, when we gained the 
summit of the mountain pass, and began to descend on the other 
side. The descent was at first exceedingly stony and precipitous, 
and in many places we could not discover any track. There were, 



144 SECOND JOURNEY. 

however, heaps of stones cast up at various distances to point out 
the way, and in some places a heap of bones, from which we could 
conclude, that the horses of some former travellers had fallen a 
sacrifice to the badness of the road, while it at the same time warned 
us of the danger to which our own were exposed. After travelling 
over several wreaths of snow, and descending about two miles, 
we could discern from the rise of the mountains before us, that 
we approached the valley of Eyafiord. Having proceeded about two 
miles further, we came to the side of a wide and deep gulley, which 
the mountain-torrent had made in its way down to the valley. The 
road now lay along the south side of this gulley, in a zig-zag direc- 
tion, but was nevertheless so precipitous, and approached at times 
so near the fissure, that if we had rode on any other but Icelandic 
horses, we certainly could not have ventured where we did. The 
change in the prospect was indescribably delightful. The green 
grass with which the valley was richly glad, the beautiful river by 
which it was intersected, the cottages which lay scattered on both 
sides, and the sheep and lambs which were grazing in every direc- 
tion, and which, from their distance below us, appeared only as 
small specks, — these circumstances, combined with the height of the 
mountains that boldly faced each other, and then sloped gently down 
into the valley, proved an agreeable relief to the eye, which for four 
days had scarcely beheld a tuft of grass, or indeed anything but 
stones and snow." — Vol. i. pp. 73, 74. 

After a few days' rest at Akur-eyri, which was the Cap- 
tain's Icelandic home, a village beautifully situated on the 
Eyafiord, or Island-bay, Mr. Henderson entered on a series 
of visits among the numerous scattered hamlets that lie a 
little to the westward. At Bcegisa, he was rejoiced to form 
the acquaintance of Sira* Jon Thorlakson, the clergyman- 
poet, who had translated the Paradise Lost, and was occu- 
pied in his old age with preparing a version of Klopstock's 
Messiah in Icelandic verse. A manuscript copy of the Ice- 
landic Milton he procured, a,nd it was his hope that he 
might one day have it in his power to secure its publica- 

* This term, which is applied to all the clergy, answers the purpose of 
a distinctive prefix, and is in this respect practically equivalent to our 
term "Reverend." Literally, it seems to denote "Father." 



HOLUM. 145 

tion in this country, as there was no possibility that its 
author could bring it out in his native land, while yet its 
merits were such as to warrant its presentation to the 
learned. That which he was unable to effect, was ulti- 
mately accomplished through the liberality of another 
English gentleman, who has not allowed his name to 
transpire, but who entrusted the editing to Messrs. Thor- 
geir Gudmunclsson and Thorsteinn Helgason, by whom the 
work was brought out nine years after the poet's death.* 

Holum, once an important diocesan see, was visited with 
peculiar interest as the printing-place of the earliest Norse 
Bible, and the burial-place of its episcopal editor, Gudbrand 
Thorlacius or Thorlakson, noted in the annals of his 
country as " one of the most distinguished and useful men 
Iceland ever produced/' and whose memory shall never 
cease while the island " continues to be peopled, and the 
vernacular language to be spoken by her inhabitants." 

From Akur-eyri, to which he had returned after a five 
days 5 excursion, Mr. Henderson had no companion save an 
attendant native. Passing another group of boiling foun- 
tains, which, though inferior to the Geysers, are entitled 
to rank next them in importance, he reached the My-vatn, 
or Gnat-Lake. 

" The most profound and death-like silence jfervades the whole of 
this desolated region. The dismal gloom reflected by the darkness 
of the opposite mountains on the lake, is greatly augmented by the 
small black islands of lava with which it is studded ; and the pillars 
of vapour proceeding in different places from the surface of the 
water, though affording a slight contrast, only tend to finish the 
melancholy scene, by leading the mind to the destructive element, 
still raging at no great depth in the earth, which has been the tre- 
mendous cause of the surrounding wildness and ruin. The lake, 

* Ens Enska Skalds J. Miltons Paradisar-missir a islenzku snuinn af 
Thjoddskaldi Islendinga Joni Thorlakssyni, 8vo, Copenhagen, 1828. 

L 



146 SECOND JOURNEY. 

which is reckoned to be about forty miles in circumference, has been 
so filled up with the torrents of lava which have been emptied into 
it, that, at its extreme depth, it does not exceed four fathoms and a 
half, and, in most places, is only between two and three fathoms 
deep. In the lava with which the bottom is covered, are numerous 
rents and cavities ; and, what is remarkable, there are hot fountains 
in the middle of the lake, boiling to such a degree, that the steam 
rising from them is seen at a considerable distance. The immediate 
vicinity of these fountains proves an excellent nursery for the 
forelles* which are found here in great abundance, and much fatter 
than common. The islands, which have been formed by the heavings 
and explosion of the sub-aquatic lava, are upwards of thirty in num- 
ber. Some of them yield a little hay and pasture ; and most of 
them abound in angelica, a plant of which the natives are very fond, 
and which they collect for winter provision. It has a pleasant taste 
when fresh, but is said to be still better after it has been kept some 
time. 

"As the atmosphere was temperate, I luckily escaped being 
attacked by the gnats, but observed thousands of them in the window 
at Reykiahlid. They are greyish in colour, have long shining wings, 
and are much larger than any I had seen before. Not only the 
peasants, who are continually pestered by them in warm weather, 
but travellers, who merely pass the lake, declare them to be insup- 
portable. Their bite is extremely painful ; and it is impossible, even 
after using every means of defence, to keep them from penetrating to 
the skin. The poor horses, especially black ones, are most tormented 
by them ; and instances have been known of those belonging to 
travellers having suffered to such a degree, that, in order to obtain 
relief, they have rushed with fury into the lake and perished." — 
Vol. i. pp. 160—162. 

The next paragraph of his " Journal" records his unex- 
pected meeting with an acquaintance, a Mr. Thorlacius, 
whom he had known during his earlier residence at Copen- 
hagen, but who had been for several years filling the post 
of Sysselmand, or sheriff, in the South Mule district. 
Appointed now to the Arness Syssel, he was removing 
with his family and three children from the eastern to 
the south-western part of the island. The journey of 500 

* A species of trout. 



KEYKIAHLID. 147 

miles, amid mountain-roads and lava-deserts, was fatiguing 
and dangerous. The youngest child, a little girl of two 
years old, had been placed on a horse before her nurse, but 
had that morning received a fall which proved more serious 
than was at first supposed. On reaching Reykiahlid, the 
little sufferer was found to have sustained a fracture of the 
thigh-bone. The distressed parents were glad to meet 
a friend who could sympathize in their sorrow, and whose 
sympathy could evince itself in timely help. It was im- 
possible that a native of Dunfermline should have failed to 
hear in his youth of the celebrated Provost Adam Low, 
whose local fame was notorious for the benevolence and 
skill, with which, although untrained in any branch of 
medical science, he gratuitously undertook the setting of 
broken bones and the reducing of dislocations. " All his 
patients were required to come to him," says the annalist 
of the town, " and whether he met them on the road, or in 
his house, he commenced his operations, and by a peculiar 
sense of touch, and strength of thumb, generally suc- 
ceeded."* Whether encouraged or not by any such re- 
membrance, Mr. Henderson addressed himself to the task, 
managed to set the bone, "bound some pieces of tough 
sheep-skin parallel with it, to prevent its sliding," and saw 
to the secure fastening of the ligature next morning, when 
the family started on their 60 miles' course to Akur-eyri, 
where first they could hope to meet with professed surgical 
aid. " We endeavoured as well as we could to set the bone," 
is the modest entry he makes in his record ; but the thanks 
tendered to him prove that he had rendered an important 
service. Thirty years after this event, he met a brother of 
the little patient, and had the pleasure of hearing that she 

* Chalmers's Hist, of Dunfermline (first Edition), p. 316. 



148 SECOND JOURNEY. 

had not eventually suffered the slightest inconvenience from 
the accident, and was still living in Iceland, a happy wife 
and mother. 

The lonely wanderer proceeded on his eastward path. 
Attracted by a sulphur mountain at a little distance, he 
turned aside to gratify his curiosity ; but it was at no 
small risk. 

" The sulphureous exhalations now becoming so strong, and the 
deceitfulness of the surface so great, we were obliged to alight from 
our horses, and lead them over such parts of the soil as appeared 
most indurated, though, after we had used every precaution in 
selecting the road, it frequently happened that one of the horses' 
feet broke through the crust, and left a hole, which continued to 
send forth smoke in great abundance, so that every moment we 
were in danger of sinking into 



a fiery deluge, fed 



With ever-burning sulphur unconsumed I" 

On either side lay vast beds of sulphur, covered with a thin crust, 
containing innumerable small holes, through, which the vapour was 
making its escape. In many parts the crust, which presented the most 
beautiful aluminous efflorescence, was not more than half an inch in 
thickness ; and on its being removed, a thick bed of pure sulphur ap- 
peared, through which the steam issued with a hissing noise. The 
sublimation of the sulphur is produced by the constant ascension of 
this vapour ; and it is found to possess greater and less degrees of 

purity, in proportion as the soil is more or less porous 

" Ascending by the sides of the banks, the bolus of which was 
very soft, and often took the horses more than mid-leg deep, we suc- 
ceeded in gaining a narrow pass in the mountain, which opened into 
a vast level country, but terminated all at once in so abrupt and 
precipitous a descent, as to excite a momentary trepidation and awe. 
Yet I had scarcely recovered from my consternation, when a more 
terrific scene opened on my view. Almost directly below the brink 
on which I stood, at the depth of more than 600 feet, lay a row of 
large caldrons of boiling mud, twelve in number, which were in full 
and constant action ; roaring, splashing, and sending forth immense 
columns of dense vapour, that, rising and spreading in the atmosphere, 
in a great measure intercepted the rays of the sun, who stood high 
above the horizon in the same direction. The boldest strokes of 



MOUNT KRABLA. 149 

poetic fiction would be utterly inadequate to a literal description of 
the awful realities of this place; nor can any ideas, formed by the 
strongest human imagination, reach half the grandeur, or the terrors, 
of the prospect." — Vol. i. pp. 166, 168. 

The sight of the Krabla, and of the smoke issuing from 
a fountain of boiling mud in the hollow that marks the 
site of its ancient crater, proved altogether irresistible. 
Nothing would do but to try the ascent, despite the 
trepidation of the guide, who regarded the region not 
only as unexplored, but unexplorable, and for aught he 
knew tenanted by unearthly inhabitants. The needful 
elevation was attained, whence to gaze with a feeling of 
repulsion into the seething caldron below, and whence to 
take a view of the surrounding scenery, which was " very 
commanding, but desolate and dreary in the extreme." 
The Hrafntinnuflall (literally, Raven-stone Mountain) next 
won his attention, and he succeeded in obtaining several 
fine specimens of the obsidian, or Icelandic agate. The 
day of peril was succeeded by an evening of adventure in 
the crossing of the Yokul river; and when darkness set 
in, there were six miles of desert country still to be over- 
passed. Trusting to the sagacity of the steeds, they went 
safely on till they found themselves stopped by an impass- 
able barrier. Feeling about in order to ascertain its 
nature, the servant at length found a window, and thus 
discovered the obstacle to be nothing more nor less than 
the farm-house they had desired to gain. The inhabit- 
ants of Grimstad, though suddenly awakened from their 
slumbers, heartily gave welcome and shelter to the weary 
pilgrim, who rested there the ensuing day for his own 
sake and that of his horses. It was here* that he first 

* A small work was published in this country, containing among other 
pictures one entitled " Dr. Henderson at the farm of Grimstad," which 



150 SECOND JOURNEY. 

became acquainted with that Icelandic custom which is 
now so commonly referred to in our Sunday-school classes 
as a familiar illustration of the sacred words, " He calleth 
his own sheep by name." 

At Eskifiord, he had reached the eastern extremity of 
his route, and was lodged under the roof of Mr. Jon 
Vidalin,* brother to the Bishop. Thence he took a south- 
ward course to the factory of Diupavog, on the southern 
shore of the Berufiord. After this he turned to the west- 
ward. " Terrible, indeed/' he writes to his friend, " have 
been the waters I have had to ford, and more than once 
I have been on the point of being carried down with the 
current, or dashed in pieces by the huge fragments of ice 
which it bore down with impetuous fury." Such was 
especially the case on Sept. 8th, in crossing the river that 
flows down from the Breidamark Y5kul, and that changes 
its position according to the progression of the ice-moun- 
tain from which it takes its rise. 

" About one o'clock we arrived at the usual channel of the river, 
which lay at least ten feet below the general surface of the sand ; 
and were surprised to find that, as far as we could see, there was 
not the least appearance of water. The guide was the more alarmed 
at this, as, how much soever the river had shifted its course each 
summer, it was always distinctly visible from this spot ; and only 
eight days before, when a Danish gentleman passed this way, it 
had flowed in the channel before us. Having descended into this 
channel, and proceeded to some distance, not without difficulty, 
owing to the numerous holes, filled with quicksand, that had been 

represents the young Scotchman of thirty under the guise of a venerable 
Swiss pasteur, with large chapeau, and flowing silver locks. He could 
not refrain from purchasing a copy, after he had (with that quiet humour 
which underlay his habitual gravity) sought and obtained the assurance 
that it was a veritable likeness ! 

* A letter, replete with expressions of gratitude both to the Society 
and to its agent, was penned by this Sysselmand, and sent to the Bible 
House in London. (See Owen's Hist., vol. ii. pp. 404—406). 



BREIDAMARK. 151 

formed by the melting of the large masses of ice deposited there on 
the subsiding of the water, the guide averred that the river had 
entirely disappeared ; and, looking at me, told me seriously he 
believed I was endowed with a superior degree of good-fortune to 
any other traveller that had ever passed this way. Urging him to 
proceed with me a little farther, till we should learn the certainty 
of the matter, we had not rode a quarter of a mile, ere we were 
convinced by its tumultuous roar, and the height of its breakers, 
that the river not only existed, but was as impetuous and dangerous 
as ever. The nearer we approached it, the more formidable it 
appeared ; and I certainly would not have had the courage to attempt 
fording it, had it not been for the confidence inspired by the follow- 
ing lines of the Hebrew bard : — 

" ' Jehovah ! the floods lift up, 
The floods lift up their voice ; 
The floods lift up their waves. 

" ' Than the voice of many waters, 

Mightier than the breakers of the sea, 
Mighty on high is Jehovah !' — Psa. xciii. 3, 4. 

Crossing several inferior branches, we gained a sand-bank, past 
which the principal stream was rolled ; but the current was so 
impetuous, and the huge shoals of ice that were hurled along seemed 
so difficult to be avoided, that our guide deemed it more advisable 
to attempt the passage of the Yokul itself, directly above the egress 
of the river. Though rarely practicable by horses, it is seldom the 
Yokul may not be crossed on foot ; and it is only in this way that 
sheep can be conveyed to the opposite side. Leaving his horse, 
therefore, he climbed up among the cavities and walls of ice, in 
order to look for a passage ; but the fissures and chasms were so 
tremendous, that he was obliged to desist from the perilous attempt, 
lest, missing a foot, he should be 

" ' transfixed, numb'd in icy cells,' 



Or shrouded in unfathom'd folds of snow.' 

The source of the river was only two stone-casts from us, whence 
the water boiled and raved to a most furious degree, now rising and 
now subsiding, yet constantly carrying out with it immense frag- 
ments of ice, which it swept along to the sea. 

" On the return of our guide, we rode a little farther down, and 
as there was no other alternative, we entered the stream ; the guide 
going first with his long pole, in order to probe the bottom, my 



152 SECOND JOURNEY. 

servant and the baggage-horses following after, while I myself 
brought up the rear. Having got so deep that the water had no 
longer a free passage between our horses' legs, it rose like a wave 
against their sides, and the current being strong and rapid, threat- 
ened to sweep us all before it. As the guide's horse was not strong, 
he was very nearly borne down, the baggage-horses were also swung 
round, and my own, though possessing more strength than any of 
them, when he found the current getting too strong for him, threw 
himself against the stream-side, and almost precipitated me into the 
flood. Owing to the suddenness with which he assumed this posi- 
tion, I was apprehensive that the stream had carried his feet out 
from below him ; but I soon found it was a natural instinct in the 
animal, prompting him to recline with all his weight against the 
impetuosity of the water ; and, balancing myself as well as I could, 
I sat in great suspense till he brought me to the opposite bank. 
Nor did our dangers terminate here. We had still several branches 
to ford, scarcely less furious than that we had crossed, and I had 
not gained one of the banks two minutes, when a huge piece of ice, 
at least thirty feet square, was carried past me with resistless force. 
The foaming of the flood, the crashing of the stones hurled against 
one another at the bottom, and the masses of ice which, arrested in 
their course by some large stones, caused the water to dash over 
them with fury, produced altogether an effect on the mind never to 
be obliterated. 

" Having reached the opposite side of the river in safety, we all 
took off our hats, and returned thanks to the God of our lives for 
His kind care and protecting mercy, of which He had afforded us 
so signal an experience on this occasion. It now became a question 
what line of conduct the guide ought to adopt. He was so deeply 
impressed with a sense of the dangers he had just escaped, that he 
had scarcely the resolution to return ; yet, reflecting that his absence 
would create great alarm in his wife and family, natural affection at 
length prevailed, and having obtained a promise that we would not 
set off till we saw him on the opposite bank, he again braved the 
fury of the flood ; and after a number of narrow escapes, we could 
but just descry the appointed signal — so great was the distance 
between us." — Vol. i. pp. 244—247. 

The thanksgiving publicly rendered was no act of 
ostentation. It was agreeable to a national custom, with 
which no visitors who admit the reality of God's super- 
intending providence, would be found unwilling to comply. 



THE HAFURSA. 153 

The Spanish proverb, " the river past, the saint forgotten," 
has its parallel in the English and the Italian, but appa- 
rently not in the Norse. 

At the southern central point of the island are situated 
the farm-houses of Vik. In one of them resided a learned 
surgeon, Svend Paulson, from whose manuscript notes 
Mr. Henderson's Journal has been enriched with many 
valuable scientific extracts. The neighbouring river, 
Hafursa, is not ordinarily dangerous to ford, but having 
been swollen by recent floods of rain, it was not easily 
crossed on this occasion. 

" My man and all the horses" — such is the brief account sent to 
Mr. Paterson — " were carried down more than twelve yards, but 
happily gained a sand-bank near the opposite shore. I attempted 
to ford the river somewhat further up, where I found the current 
divided by sand-banks in the middle, but found the current too 
strong for my horse, and was under the necessity of retiring to the 
side of a neighbouring mountain, where I spent the livelong night, 
sitting for the most part on my saddle, which I had laid on the 
ground, and though the weather was rather inclement, it was one of 
the happiest nights I have spent in my life." 

His printed volume lets us more fully into his thoughts 
and feelings : — 

" In one sense I could say with Colma, ' It is night. I am alone ; 
forlorn on the hill of storms. The wind is heard in the mountain. 
The torrent pours down the rock. No hut receives me from the 
rain ; forlorn on the hill of winds.' But I could also with a nobler 
propriety adopt the effusions of Thomson : 

"' 'Tis nought to me ; 
Since God is ever present, ever felt, 
In the void waste, as in the city full ; 
And where He vital breathes, there must be joy.' 

The night was long, and a number of showers fell ; but the length, 
of the one was shortened, and the disagreeableness of the other 
ameliorated, by the happy state of my mind, to which a sense of 
Divine preservation, and an unshaken confidence in God, had given 
a tone of elevation and joy." — Vol. i. p. 321. 



154 SECOND JOURNEY. 

The ascent of Hecla Mr. Henderson did not attempt, 
the appearance of that mountain, when in a quiescent 
state, not being calculated to excite particular attention. 
Passing through the Arness district, where he was glad 
to find the new Sysselmand and his family safely arrived, 
he reached Reykiavik after an absence of rather less than 
sixty days, during which he had forded upwards of sixty 
rivers, but had been — to use his own words — " watched 
over with more than a shepherd's care." 

The amount of work he had designed to accomplish had 
been fully overtaken. Many as had been the wonders he 
had visited, it was once only that he had gone out of his 
route for the purpose. And the more he had observed 
the stupendous tokens of Divine power, the more he had 
felt the importance of circulating the message of Divine 
love. Writing of the inhabitants, he said — 

" The surprising physical appearances which are exhibited every- 
where around them, are certainly calculated, in a very eminent 
degree, to excite in their minds the most sublime conceptions of the 
power and majesty of God ; but instead of affording any relief to a 
mind burdened with a sense of guilt, they are calculated to aggra- 
vate its terrors, and drive it to the last stage of despair. The Bible, 
on the other hand, while it strengthens every impression made by 
nature of the Divine greatness, majesty, and power, introduces the 
message of mercy, and warrants the repentant sinner to view the 
Omnipotent Jehovah as his Father and his Friend." * 

At the scattered residences of the clergymen and sheriffs 
he had called with letters of introduction, and obtained 
from them the information he sought as to the existing 
state of things in their several parishes, as well as a 
promise of co-operation in the plans that were about to 
be adopted. In almost every hamlet there was new proof 

* Twelfth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society, Appendix, 
p. 196. 



KEYKIA.VIK. 155 

that such effort was needed ; in each hamlet, proof also 
that the effort would meet with response on the part of 
willing purchasers. Here was a parish in which a folio 
Bible, greatly injured by use, had all its defective pages 
accurately supplied by the pen of a common peasant ; and 
there another, whose lent copy had so long been retained 
by the islanders of Grimsey, that the right of its posses- 
sion had become a disputed point. One copy in an island ; 
two in a parish ; twelve among two hundred people ; six 
among two hundred and fifty ; a clergyman, seeking for 
seventeen long years to possess a copy of his own, and 
hitherto unable to secure the treasure ; peasants, who had 
offered, but offered in vain, to the amount of flve-and- 
twenty shillings for a copy ; — such are the incidents that 
crowd upon the page. The Testaments sent over in 1807 
and 181& were traced to their destination, but they were 
found to have gone a very little way toward meeting the 
extensive demand, having " tended rather to make the 
wants of the people more visible than afford them any 
adequate supply." One of the Deans, who had received 
and distributed two hundred copies, believed that he could 
easily have disposed of as many thousands ; and all who 
had thus obtained Testaments were only the more anxious 
to possess a complete copy of the entire oracles of God. 

The general intelligence of the people rendered their 
need of Scripture the more obvious. In a parish of four 
hundred, where all who were above eight years old had 
been taught to read, there might well be a universal desire 
for the Book of books. The knowledge of geography, 
history, and astronomy, which is obtained by the very 
peasants, in consequence of the diligent domestic instruc- 
tion and heedful family-readings pursued during the long 
evenings of their winter, showed that they were well 



156 SECOND JOURNEY. 

prepared to enter into the allusions of the inspired historians 
and prophets. Those who had listened year by year to 
the mythic legends embodied in the Sagas, were begin- 
ning to weary of the sweetly-flowing but unsatisfying 
currents of traditional lore, and beginning to thirst for 
the purer streams of everlasting truth. On this subject, 
the traveller makes a judiciously discriminating remark : — - 

" Considered as furnishing many important data to the history of 
the North, which, without their aid, would he extremely dark and 
imperfect, the Sagas are certainly of great value, and, in the hands 
of the learned, may be turned to a good account ; but to encourage 
their perusal by the common people, would only be to nourish those 
seeds of superstition and credulity which they are but too prone to 
cultivate, and which, in their vegetation, cannot but have a baleful 
influence on their sentiments and conduct in life." — Vol. i. pp. 87, 88. 

Mr. Henderson wished not only to verify the statements 
made as to the extent of the reported deficiency, but also 
to seek a remedy for the evil. He began, therefore, by 
leaving copies of the Bible and Testament as specimens 
wherever he went. Some he sold, and others he gave, 
according to the comparative wealth, or rather, where 
none are absolutely rich, the comparative poverty of the 
district. Being able to transport but a limited number 
upon the baggage - horse which was procured for the 
purpose, it was only by prudent management that he 
could eke out the little stock, on which many of the 
claimants were ready to make a large demand. Their 
urgency was great. Where the master of a family had 
purchased a copy, the servants came, money in hand, to 
obtain one for their own use. A father, buying for him- 
self, would fain have procured one for each of his children ; 
and, if he could not be immediately supplied, he would 
ask leave to pay in advance that he might thus secure the 
first copies which should reach the district. 



REYK1AVIK. 157 

Accordingly, the third design of the tour was met in 
the opening of subscription-lists in all the parishes, that 
it might readily be known in what proportion copies 
should be forwarded to each respectively. " Put me down 
for a Bible" — "me for a New Testament" — "me for 
three Testaments/' were the cries heard on every side, 
when the people were assembled to give in their names. 
At the sea-ports due arrangements were made in respect 
to the disposal of the cargoes that had been consigned 
thither,* and for the establishment of depots whence the 
hamlets might from time to time be supplied. 

Tracts were put into circulation as well as Bibles and 
Testaments. They were received with thankful eager- 
ness. " I have in a short space of time circulated no less 
than 1950 copies of 6 Scripture Extracts,' and 2640 of 
< The End of Time.' " f 

Another, and not less important object was secured in 
stirring up the minds of the clergy by giving them in- 
formation as to the religious progress of other nations, and 
the interest beginning to be extensively taken in the diffu- 
sion of Scriptural light among the dark places of the earth. 

" Their entire exclusion, by invincible local circumstances, from 
almost all access to the sources of religious intelligence, has a neces- 
sary tendency to engender a partial coldness and indifference about 
the common interests of the gospel, and to render this part of the 
vineyard of Christ which they occupy frigid and barren as the 
island they inhabit. A visit from a stranger, especially one who 
travelled among them with the end I had in view, would, it was 
presumed, excite a more lively concern about the Holy Scriptures, 
and thus contribute to advance the cause of pure and undefined 

religion." — -Vol. i. p. 18. 

, . — .'■ . 

* 4055 Bibles, and 6634 Testaments, were the total number that had 
been shipped from Copenhagen ; and the greater part had already been 
disposed of. A few yet remained on hand, and a fresh supply was to be 
sent by the earliest opportunity. (Twelfth Report, Appendix, p. 213.) 

f Jubilee Memorial of the Tract Society, p. 311. 



158 SECOND JOURNEY. 

Many an afternoon of social intercourse, and many a 
morning's ride attended with earnest converse, witnessed 
the realizing of this hope, when the news which the 
visitor could give concerning Christian institutions that 
were fully established in England, or that were in the 
course of organization in Denmark itself, were " as cold 
waters to a thirsty soul." 

It is pleasant to know — though it could scarcely admit 
of a doubt — that the labourer found a reward in his work. 
Especially was it so at Tiornabse : — 

" Taking into consideration the remoteness of the surrounding 
cottages from the nearest market-place to which it was intended to 
forward Bibles next year, I sent for two of the poorest people in 
the vicinity, and gave each of them a Testament. One of them had 
a Danish Bible, which he endeavoured, as well as he could, to 
collect the sense of, but he understood the language very imperfectly. 
He thanked me repeatedly with tears in his eyes, and rode home 
quite overjoyed at the gift he had received. The other, a young 
man about nineteen, had been despatched by his poor and aged 
parents, to learn the truth of the message that had been sent them. 
There was an uncommon degree of humble simplicity in his counte- 
nance. On receiving the Testament, it was hardly possible for him 
to contain his joy. As a number of people had now collected round 
the door of my tent, I caused him to read the third chapter of the 
Gospel of John. He had scarcely begun, when they all sat down, 
or knelt on the grass, and listened with the most devout attention. 
As he proceeded, the tears began to trickle down their cheeks, and 
they were all seemingly much affected. The scene was doubtless as 
new to them as it was to me ; and on my remarking, after he had 
done, what important instructions were contained in the portion of 
Scripture he had read, they gave their assent, adding with a sigh 
that they were but too little attended to. The landlady especially 
seemed deeply impressed with the truths she had heard, and re- 
mained some time after the others were gone, together with an 
aged female, who every now and then broke out into exclamations 
of praise to God for having sent ' His clear and pure word' among 
them. It is impossible for me to describe the pleasure I felt on this 
occasion. I forgot all the fatigues of travelling over the mountains ; 
and, indeed, to enjoy another such evening, I could travel twice 
the distance. I bless God for having counted me worthy to be 



REYKJAVIK. 159 

employed in this ministry ; to dispense His holy word among a 
people prepared by Him for its reception, and to whom by the 
blessing of His Spirit it shall prove of everlasting benefit ; nor can 
I be sufficiently thankful to the Committee of the British and 
Foreign Bible Society for having constituted me the almoner of 
their bounty, and sending me on an errand which, while it brings 
felicity to others, proved a source of so much enjoyment to my own 
mind."— Vol. i. pp. 78—80. 

Joy and sorrow had their alternations in his experience, 
as in that of all men. It was at the close of his first 
Icelandic tour, and while still so far from his home, that 
he received tidings of his father's death. His heart was 
in the house of mourning, and he felt it good to study the 
salutary lesson which is best learned in the school of 
adversity. " One generation goeth," he thought, " and 
another cometh, but the word of the Lord endureth for 
ever/' In the diffusion of that unchanging record he was 
employed ; to that work he resolved to addict himself with 
a yet quickened zeal, when thus reminded that the time 
was short and the night at hand. One anxiety, indeed, 
might have weighed upon him with a hindering force. 
He had a now widowed mother. Not unfrequently had 
his mind already been harassed with the rising fear lest 
in devoting himself to the service of the gospel, he should 
have been found neglectful of the lesson involved in the 
reproof of the Pharisees, Matt. xv. 4, 5 ; and such a per- 
plexity would now have recurred, had not friends in Scot- 
land stepped forward, and made her cause their own. 
What was the provision made is not on record, nor is it 
needful to enquire; but it is pleasing to see the filial 
affection evinced in two letters on the subject. To 
J. Farquhar Gordon, Esq., he pours out the feelings of 
his heart in terms of warmest gratitude ; adding, " He 
who hath declared himself the peculiar Friend of the 
widow, has also given a peculiar promise to such as 



160 SECOND JOURNEY. 

imitate Him in this respect; and this part of pure and 
undefiled religion cannot pass without its reward." To 
his friend Dr. Paterson he writes : " It is now my duty to 
express my heartfelt gratitude for the kind and sympa- 
thizing visit you paid my dear mother during your abode 
in Scotland, which is doubly precious in my view, as I 
know how much your time must have been taken up 
there. Permit me also to thank you for the provision you 
have made. I could not have done more had I been at 
home. The Lord grant that you may find mercy of the 
Lord at that day for what you have done in this respect/ 5 
The eight weeks of incessant travelling were followed 
by a rest that was necessarily prolonged. The short 
summer was ended ; the eight months of winter had com- 
menced. The use of the sledge having long been discon- 
tinued on the island, no journey could be made. All 
communication with Europe being stopped by the ice, no 
letter could either come or go. Yet there were allevia- 
tions to the rigours of what might else have seemed a long 
imprisonment. If needing mental occupation, he could 
find it in transcribing the notes of his recent expedition, 
and in studying the books which he had wisely brought 
from Denmark as companions for the winter solitude. If 
craving some new object of outward interest, he found his 
admiration nightly awakened by the variety and velocity 
of movement assumed by the brilliant aurora borealis. If 
thirsting for the sound of his native tongue, he had a 
friend's society at hand. Mr. Hodgson, who had been 
his fellow-traveller to the Geysers, was still residing at 
Eeykiavik. The better they became acquainted, the 
more closely were they drawn together. Almost daily 
they contrived to meet, and one evening in the week they 
regularly spent in each other's company. 



ELLDBORG. 161 

The month of May found the labourer longing to put 
his hand again to the work. It was full early to begin. 
Friends dissuaded him from the attempt, guides were un- 
willing to move, horses were not yet in fitting trim. But 
it was necessary to be in Reykiavik before the return of 
the Handelstid. Consequently, the tour of 1815 had to be 
in part accomplished before the end of June. Perseverance 
overcame all obstacles, and the Chief Justice himself kindly 
offered to furnish better horses than could at such a season 
have been procured elsewhere. This second journey in- 
cluded the western quarter of the island. Leaving the 
capital on the 16th inst., in a six-oared boat, the traveller 
crossed the Hvalfiord, or "Whale Frith, one of the sub- 
divisions or inlets of the Faxefiord, and thus reached the 
estate of Chief Justice Stephensen, where horses were 
awaiting him. Tracking the southern side of the next 
inlet, the Borgarflord, and afterwards turning westward, he 
passed through the Hraundal, or Lava Valley, with ex- 
tinct volcanoes on every side, and scoriae lying thickly on 
the path. The insulated summit of Elldborg was presently 
sighted to the northward, inclining gradually till con- 
siderably within thirty yards of the summit, when an 
irregularly crested wall of lava suddenly rises in an almost 
perpendicular direction, and gives it the appearance whence 
it has derived its name, " the fortress of fire." With three 
clergymen, who, in order to enjoy a season of prolonged 
intercourse, were escorting him on his way, he descended 
into its hollow elliptic crater, and with its volcanic walls 
towering to the height of nearly 200 feet around them, they 
could see the clouds magnificently sailing across the small 
portion of blue canopy that was visible overhead. 

On reaching the central promontory that juts out on the 
western coast, it was needful to give the horses a day of 

M 



162 SECOND JOURNEY. 

extra rest to fit them for the rough journey that lay before 
them ; and the far-famed Stappen was selected for the 
halting-place. The afternoon of arrival was devoted partly 
to business-matters, as this was a mercantile station to 
which a Bible cargo had been forwarded ; and partly to a 
view of its celebrated basaltic pillars and caverns. The 
next day was made available for the ascent of the Sneefell 
Yokul. 

" When our design was made known to the people about the place, 
they shook their heads, and maintained that it was impossible to gain 
the summit ; while some of them seemed to look upon the attempt as 
an act of presumptuous temerity. They regard the mountain with a 
kind of superstitious veneration ; and find it difficult to divest their 
" minds of the idea, that it is still haunted by Bardr, the tutelary 
divinity of the Yokul, who will not fail to avenge himself on all that 
have the audacity to defile, with mortal breath, the pure and ethereal 
atmosphere of his lofty abode. 

" After partaking of an excellent breakfast, and having completely 
equipped ourselves for the journey, we set out from Stappen at eight 
o'clock, the thermometer showing 52° in the shade. Our way lay 
nearly due N.E., along the base of Stappafiall, an irregular mountain, 
which projects from the south side of the Yokul, and consists for the 
most part of tuffa and columnar lava. Numerous caverns with which 
it is perforated, combine with these appearances to determine its 
volcanic origin. On our right we had a stream of lava, which we 
crossed repeatedly, and proceeded up the long gulley, down which it 
has flowed from the Yokul. Following this track, and surmounting 
alternate masses of snow and rough knobby lavas, we came, about ten 
o'clock, to the last black spot we could discover, a huge piece of lava, 
on which we rested ourselves for about a quarter of an hour, in order 
to gain strength for the remaining and more arduous part of our 
excursion. 

" What had greatly incommoded us hitherto was the extreme soft- 
ness of the snow. We sunk in it past the knees ; and though Mr. 
Hialltalin and I walked in the prints made by the three men, we found 
it nearly as fatiguing as if we had made a track each for himself. The 
mercury had now risen to 57 °; and the elevation we had gained was 
still considerably below the Yokul-hals, or the ridge which connects 
the mountain with the main body of the peninsula. 

" We again renewed our ascent. The surface of the snow began to 



SXJEFELL YOKUL. 163 

get more indurated, and though we still sunk too much to admit of 
our walking with ease, this inconvenience was in some measure coun- 
terbalanced by the gentleness with which the mountain rose before us. 
In the course of half an hour, however, the ascent became more 
accTivitous, and ultimately got so steep, that we were obliged to climb 
it in a zig-zag direction, and found it impossible to advance more than 
thirty or forty paces at a time, without throwing ourselves down on the 
snow, in order to refresh ourselves by a temporary respite. What is 
very remarkable, though we always felt so fatigued that we supposed 
a considerable time would be required to render us vigorous again, we 
had not lain more than three minutes when we found ourselves as 
fresh and lively as ever. We now found the black silk handkerchiefs 
we had taken with us very useful, as the rays of the sun reflected from 
the minute chrystals of ice on the crust of the snow, proved extremely 
annoying, and must certainly have been hurtful to the organs of sight, 
had we not used this precaution. 

u For some time we completely lost sight of the superior regions of 
the Yokul ; but as we continued our progress, the most easterly peak 
came at length in view, and appeared to be at no great elevation above 
us. It was not, however, till after we had repeatedly renewed our 
toil, that we reached its southern base, about one o'clock. This peak 
is called the Thrihyrning, from the three minor peaks into which it 
is divided, and which consist of masses of congealed snow, supported 
by beautiful massive pillars of ice in front, which wear a brilliant 
green hue, and reflect the beams of the sun in the most vivid manner. 
We here halted near half an hour, and partook of some refreshment, 
after which we pursued our route towards the middle and highest peak . 

" The ascent now became much easier, owing to the consistence of 
the crust, and the more gentle rise of the mountain. The air increased 
in purity, and the heat sensibly declined. At the Thrihyrning, the 
mercury had fallen to 36° ; and a little farther up, it stood at 33°, 
though there was a piercing sun, and little or no wind was perceptible. 
What not a little disconcerted us during this stage of our progress, was 
the appearance of mist gathering round the Ybkul, at a considerable 
distance below us, which we were afraid would increase, and not only 
confine our prospect, but render our descent both difficult and 
dangerous. 

" We now began also to anticipate the dangerous rents and chasms 
in the snow, so pathetically described by former travellers ; but were 
no less surprised than pleased to meet with only a single fissure, which 
did not appear to run to any great depth, and was only about four 
inches in breadth. Their absence, however, may be accounted for 
from the earliness of the season ; the winter snows with which they 



164 SECOND JOURNEY. 

had been drifted up remaining undissolved, and no fresh disruptions 
from the precipitation of the masses of snow having yet taken place. 
For this reason, the ascent of the Yokul must always be easier the 
earlier it is undertaken ; though in this case the danger must be 
greater, as many of the old chasms may only have been partially 
drifted over, and ere the traveller is aware, he may sink through a 
deceitful surface into an immense unfathomed abyss. 

" About three o'clock, we ultimately succeeded in reaching the 
base of the highest peak, when all at once a most tremendous preci- 
pice appeared at our feet, exceeding 2000 feet of nearly perpendicular 
depth, and displaying, in various parts of the profound valley of snow 
into which it opened, long and broad fissures running parallel with its 
sides. Near the middle of this awful depth we espied a huge circular 
aperture, the sides of which were lined with green ice, and which 
seemed to have been formed by a cascade, poured down from some 
part of the snow-bank on which we stood, though we could not dis- 
cover any marks of water. This wonderful chasm ran down from be- 
tween the middle and most westerly peaks, and appeared to descend to 
near the northern base of the mountain. Skirting the brink of the 
frozen precipice, we ascended the north side of the peak, but, after 
climbing within three or four yards of its summit, we were debarred 
all further progress by a perpendicular wall of icy pillars, resembling 
those already described, and completely surrounding the summit, 
which we could reach with great ease with the end of the poles, or 
long walking-staves in our hands. 

" We here formed a seat with our poles in the snow, and sat down 
to partake of a cold dinner, which tasted still colder from the ideas 
suggested by the scene around us, and the actual increase of cold in 
the atmosphere, the mercury having sunk to 29°. The mist that had 
partially encompassed the Yokul during our ascent, now completely 
encircled it, and prevented us from surveying the low coasts and 
harbours around the base of the mountain. The prospect was, never- 
theless, noble and commanding. The mountains of the peninsula rose 
into view through the surrounding fog ; the whole length of the bay of 
Faxefiord was distinctly visible to our right, together with the Eastern 
and Western Skardsheidi mountains, Akkrafiall, and part of the moun- 
tains in Gullbringe Syssell. Geitland's Yokul, Skialldbreid, and the 
mountains about Hekla, crowded into view from the east ; while, from 
the termination of the range of mountains that divides the peninsula, 
stretched the Breidafiord, studded with an innumerable multitude of 
singular-looking islands. The mountains of Bardastrand and Isafiord 
bounded the prospect towards the north, among which the Glama and 
Dranga Yokuls shone with great splendour. The view to the west 



SX^FELL YOKUL. 165 

was only confined by our limited powers of vision, and certainly ex- 
tended beyond half the intervening distance between Iceland and 
Greenland. What added to the interest excited by so extensive a 
prospect, was the beautiful girdle of clouds which surrounded the 
Yokul, at least 3000 feet below us. The atmospherical fluid felt un- 
commonly pure ; aud the pleasurable sensations produced by the re- 
flection that Ave had attained the object of our enterprise, in spite even 
of our own misgivings, tended in no small degree to cheer and ex- 
hilarate our minds. 

" On surveying such an immense snow-mountain, it is impossible 
. not to feel the force of the Scripture appeal : ' Will the snow of 
Lebanon fail from the rock of the field ? or the inundating cold flow- 
ing waters be exhausted?' Jer. xviii. 14. Much less can He fail who 
is the Ancient of days, and the Rock of ages, the Fountain of living 
waters, and the God of all comfort and consolation. Every sublunary 
object must undergo vicissitude and decay ; the whole of the mundane 
system shall one day present a scene of universal ruin ; but ' He re- 
maineth the same, and His years shall have no end,' Psa. cii. 27. 

" Having examined the compass, and found it exactly to correspond 
with the sun, we began to retrace our steps, which, from their depth, 
were plain before us, so that there was no danger of losing our way. 
We found the descent extremely easy ; and in little more than three 
hours from our leaving the summit of the Yokul, we again found our- 
selves at Stappen, where we were welcomed by the inhabitants ; but 
it was not till the following morning that the common people would 
believe the protestations of our attendants that we had actually reached 
the middle peak." — Vol ii. pp. 38 — 44. 

Keeping along the northern coast of the promontory, — 
pursuing the sea-line as it again turns to the N.W., — form- 
ing the acquaintance of many a learned man, unknown to 
fame, but deserving of high literary renown, — visiting the 
birthplace of the old chronicler Snorro Sturluson,* — cross- 
ing the Breidafiord, and stopping to fulfil his errand of 
mercy on one of its chief islands by the way, — crossing or 

* By some called "The Northern Herodotus," but by others denomi- 
nated " the Scandinavian Euhemerus ;" — the former epithet pointing to 
his " Heimskringla," in which he chronicles the exploits of the kings of 
Norway ; — the latter adverting to his reputed share in the prose Edda, 
and his attempts to resolve the old mythology into a mass of exaggerated 
historic facts. 



166 SECOND JOURNEY. 

coasting several smaller friths to the north, — he reached 
his furthest point in one of the numerous places that share 
the common appellation of Hollt. Here he found another 
clerical poet, Sira Thorvaldr Bodvarson, the translator of 
poems from Gellert and from Pope. Having made the 
needful arrangements in "behalf of the Isafiord Syssel, a 
district which he could not penetrate owing to the immense 
quantity of snow that still rendered the mountains im- 
passable, he retraced his steps for awhile, occasionally 
deviating, though hut slightly, from his former route. The 
following paragraph may he read as a pleasant relief from 
the sterner details of the wild and terrific: — 

" Descending from the mountains, we passed through a pretty 
extensive tract of underwood, and entered a beautiful inhabited dis- 
trict in front of the Bardastrand precipices, in which the projecting 
promontories terminate along the northern shore of the Breidafiord. 
The sea has evidently at a remote period washed the base of these 
precipices ; but, having gradually receded, beautiful alluvial plains 
have been formed, the greatest part of which is now covered with 
grass. The farms lay scattered under the lee of the mountains ; 
numerous flocks of sheep were enjoying their nightly repose ; the 
night was tranquil and serene ; the speckled Breidafiord lay before 
us in all its wide expanse ; while the snow-capped mountains of 
Snsefellsness, receding in beautiful perspective from the royal Yokul, 
reflected a golden splendour on the surrounding atmosphere." — 
Vol. ii. p. 113. 

When recrossing the Breidafiord, he redeemed an hour 
or two on the island of Flatey, for the examination of its 
" surturbrand " or rock-wood, of which he gives a length- 
ened geological account ;* and was then conveyed over the 
remainder of the bay, to rejoin the horses which he had 
there left to await his return from the north-west. He 
next took a north-easterly direction, approached the other 

* Yol. ii. pp. 114—121. 



MOUNT BxiULA. 167 

side of the inaccessible Isafiord Syssel, and then prosecuted 
his course by the side of the Hrutafiord, the most extensive 
of the northern bays. The phenomenon of June 23rd — for 
such it was to him — was one not easily to be forgotten : — 

" "We set out for the mountains about seven o'clock in the evening, 
and continued gradually to ascend till near twelve at night, when I 
was favoured with the most novel and interesting midnight scene 1 
ever witnessed : the sun remaining as if stationary a little above the 
horizon for about half an hour, when he again commenced his 
ascent, and pursued his steady, undeviating course through the 

northern hemisphere To the south and east stretched an 

immense impenetrable waste, enlivened on the one hand by a num- 
ber of lakes, and in the distance by vast ice-mountains, whose 
glassy surface, receiving the rays of the midnight sun, communicated 
a golden tinge to the surrounding atmosphere ; while towards the 
north, the long bay of Hrutafiord gradually opened into the ocean. 
Here the king of day, like a vast globe of fire, stretched his sceptre 
over the realms of night, — divested indeed of his splendour, but more 
interesting, because more subject to view. The singing of swans on 
the neighbouring lakes added to the novelty of the scene 

" As I continued my journey, the train of my meditation fell upon 
that sublime passage in the prophet Isaiah, where describing in 
prophetic anticipation the future prosperity of the church, he de- 
clares, ' Thy sun shall no more go down, neither shall thy moon 
withdraw itself,' etc. In the spectacle I had just beheld, the pro- 
phetic image itself was fully unfolded to my view ; and the contem- 
plation of the universality and perpetuity of the Divine light, in 
connection with the means at present so effectively used for its dif- 
fusion throughout the world, animated me to devote myself afresh 
to the work of the Lord, and, in reliance on grace from above, to 
contribute to the utmost of my power towards the impartation of 
that light to every human soul." — Vol. ii. pp. 135 — 137. 

It was time to hasten back to the capital. On passing 
Mount Baula, a cone of 3000 feet in height, the traveller 
was interested in the basaltiform stones which in huge 
loose masses rendered the ascent of its base as inviting as 
it was arduous. At Eeykhollt he bathed in Snorro Stur- 
luson's bath, a circular room, fifteen feet in diameter, con- 



168 SECOND JOURNEY. 

structed some six centuries ago, and supplied with water 
by means of a subterranean aqueduct from the boiling 
springs of Scribla, at a distance of 500 feet. At Saurbse 
on the Whale-firth, he was pleased at meeting with a 
clergyman, who, while possessing a stipend of only about 
£6 per annum,* was better versed in Hebrew than many 
an English incumbent, having, at the advanced age of 
sixty, made such good use of the books kindly given him 
by the worthy Bishop Vidalin, that he was able to read 
even the more difficult portions of the original with 
tolerable ease. 

Reykiavik was reached on June 29th, and soon presented 
a most animated spectacle. A hundred tents pitched in 
scattered groups about the suburban fields, brought forcibly 
to mind " the travelling companies of Dedanim," as men- 
tioned by the prophet Isaiah. The opportunity afforded by 
such an assemblage was deemed the most expedient for 
taking steps toward the formation of the Icelandic Bible 
Society. 

" On the 10th of July, at the annual meeting of the Diocesan 
Synod, which was held in the Cathedral, a sermon was preached on 
the subject by the Rev. A. Helgason, in which he forcibly set forth 
the importance and utility of Bible Societies, expatiated with much 
feeling on the vast operations of the British and Foreign Bible 
Society in particular, and the plenitude of success with which these 
operations had been crowned ; gave a brief view of its exertions in 
behalf of Iceland; and concluded by exhorting the Synod to co-operate 
in this common and glorious cause, and embrace the present oppor- 
tunity of founding a similar institution for the island of Iceland. 

" After service, the Synod proceeded to the discussion of their 
usual business ; and in the afternoon adjourned to the Episcopal Hall, 

* This was not an unusually low stipend. The translator of Milton 
had no more, although, having under his care the two parishes of Bsegisa 
and Bakka, he had to give to his assistant nearly the half of that meagre 
pittance. 



REYKIAVIK. 169 

when the Archdeacon, and the Dean of Odde, were deputed to call 
at my lodging, and conduct me to the meeting. , , . . The follow- 
ing is the translation of a copy of the minutes taken on the occa- 
sion : — " On the 10th of July, 1815, a meeting was held at Rey- 
kiavik by the undersigned, for the purpose of establishing a Bible 
Society for this island, on the same principles with similar institu- 
tions in different parts of the world : when it was resolved, that 
such a Society be formed, having for its grand object to provide 
against any future want of Bibles in the vernacular language, and 
to promote their circulation throughout the country, according as 
circumstances may require. But, owing to the absence of several of 
the principal persons on the island, it was judged necessary to post- 
pone the establishment of the laws of the Society till the 9th of July, 
1816 ; and the members, then associated, authorized the Right 
Rev. Geir Vidalin, the Very Rev. the Archdeacon M. Magnusson, 
the Rev. Arne Helgason, rector of the Cathedral, Isl. Einarson, 
Justiciary and Assessor of the High Court, B. Thorarinson, Assessor 
of the High Court, and S. Thorgrimson, Royal Treasurer, to invite 
the leading people on the island to a meeting on the above-men- 
tioned day, for the purpose of fixing the constitution of the Society, 
and determining other matters connected with its operations." — 
Vol. ii. pp. 170—172. 

There was no delay in opening a subscription-fund, and 
requesting the Royal Treasurer to take charge of the dollars 
contributed. The Bible Society in London, on hearing 
that the institution was formed, voted a grant of £300 in 
its aid. The work of revision was already in progress, 
under the care of scholars who were acquainted as well 
with the original as with their native tongue. The scheme 
thus originated for an Icelandic Bible Society did not prove 
an abortive one. From time to time tidings were received 
of satisfactory progress. Thus, in the Report for 1841, it 
is stated that a version of the -Scriptures was being 
" printed on the island itself, and of a type so large as to 
be suitable for their lengthened lamplight readings." 
According to the latest communication, it appeared that 
the total issues had amounted in all to above 10,000 Bibles 
and Testaments ; but it is now several years since this 



170 SECOND JOURNEY. 

statement was forwarded. It is hoped that a correspond- 
ence may be re-opened between the London and Reykiavik 
Societies in the course of the approaching summer. It is 
pleasant to have been assured, through a private channel 
of information, that the Institution is not defunct. 

It will have been noticed that one fourth part of the 
island had yet to be explored. This was hastily accom- 
plished in the short summer-season that remained. In 
company with two Danish travellers/ Mr. Henderson left 
Reykiavik the third time. As far as Thingvalla, he pursued 
the track he had made on his first tour, but instead of pro- 
ceeding to the Geysers as before, he kept to the N.N.E., 
forced to turn out of the direct line whenever impeded by 
a lake or a Yokul. The cavern of Surtshellir, a quarter 
of a mile to the right, could not be passed by without a visit. 
Superstition has marked out the spot as that from which, 
at the end of time, Surtur, the swarthy volcano-god, will 
issue forth to cause the last general conflagration.' In the 
meanwhile, however, it is an abode of darkness, and the 
torches of the visitors alone reveal to view its jet-like sta- 
lactites, its lava-striped walls, and its tortuous windings. 
Cave opens out of cave. The flooring is in some places a 
pool of snow-cold water, in others an inclined and slippery 
pavement of thickly coated ice. Traces of human residence 
are found in a partition-wall with a door in the centre, a 
floor strewed with fine sand, and a heap of bones which 
seem to be the residue of animals slain for food by the 
banditti who made these subterranean haunts their hidden 
retreat. One scene there was, which amply recompensed 
the fatigue and peril of the travellers : — 

"The roof and sides of the cave were decorated with the most superb 
icicles, crystallized in every possible form, many of which rivalled in 
minuteness the finest zeolites ; while, from the icy floor, rose pillars 



SURTSHELLIR. 171 

of the same substance, assuming- all the curious and fantastic shapes 
imaginable, mocking the proudest specimens of art, and counterfeiting- 
many well-known objects of animated nature. Many of them were 
upwards of four feet high, generally sharpened at the extremity, 
and about two feet in thickness. A more brilliant scene, perhaps, 
never presented itself to the human eye. . . . The light of the torches 
rendered it peculiarly enchanting." — Vol. ii. p. 196. 

Having discovered the pyramid of lava on which Olafsen 
and Povelsen in 1753 had deposited sealed coins in token 
of their visit, and having imitated the example by impress- 
ing their own initials or devices on small pieces of Danish 
money, which they left in memorial of their having reached 
the same spot, the party effected their return to upper air, 
where the rays of the sun "strongly reflected from the 
vitrified lava and volcanic sand" made them feel as if they 
had " suddenly exchanged a Greenland winter for an 
African summer." 

Necessitated as they often were, when mist hid the 
mountains from their view, to depend for guidance on the 
aid of the magnetic needle, it was no small matter of dismay 
to find themselves in a district, where, on repeated trial, 
the compass was found no longer to act by reason of the 
predominance of iron in the soil around. The hotsprings 
of Hveravellir were reached after a little wandering ; yet 
even here was cause alike of new alarm and new thank- 
fulness, when the tent-poles were found in the morning so 
heated, that it was impossible to touch the ends which had 
rested in the ground. The entire tract is a " solfatara," 
and "may with strict propriety be termed the Campi 
Phlegroei of Iceland." 

At this point the travellers separated, and Mr. Hender- 
son proceeded in a directly straight line to the North. 
From the port, or rather factory of Skagastrand, he took a 
winding road, and revisited Holum ; thence through Urdir 



172 



SECOND JOURNEY. 



to his old quarters in the neighbourhood of Akur-eyri. He 
was much gratified to learn that the clergyman of Modru- 
fell, one of the numerous Sira Jon Jonsons, had acted on 
the suggestion brought before his notice the previous year, 
and had succeeded in forming an Icelandic Tract Society, 
under the patronage of Conferenceraad Thorarinson, which 
already numbered as many as three hundred subscribers. 
Twenty guineas were voted to them, as soon as the estab- 
lishment of their Society was known in London ; and before 
three summers had elapsed, they had issued copies of twelve 
tracts, mostly translations from those of the Religious Tract 
Society.* 

Returning homeward rapidly, Mr. Henderson paid a 
second visit to the Haukadal Geysers {the Geysers, by pre- 
eminence). Here he took two days' rest, and was inte- 
rested to find that the Strockr could be made to erupt at 
will by injecting a number of large stones ; — that these irre- 
gular jettings interfered with the regularity of the periodic 
ebullitions ; — and that they sent forth the column of water 
to a much greater height than that usually observable in 
the spontaneous playing of the fountain. He then pur- 
sued the eastern instead of the western route to Reykiavik, 
passed south of the Thingvalla-vatn, visited the Geyser of 

* When my father was in Russia, he at one time found he had 100 
roubles to spare for some benevolent object, and he forwarded it to the 
Society at Modrufell. Sira Jon Jonson wrote a letter of thanks, dated 
January 1822, and stated that the number of tracts issued by them up to 
that period amounted to 20,000, which bore to the number of inhabitants 
the proportion of five to twelve. This excellent clergyman lived to a good 
old age. In 1837 he had to report a great decline in the number of sub- 
scribers. He had employed himself in translating "Doddridge's Rise and 
Progress," but could not raise funds to defray the expense of printing, till 
the Religious Tract Society came forward to his aid, and voted him a 
grant of £50, which enabled its publication. (Jubilee Memorial, p. 312.) 
There is every reason to fear that since his decease, this good work has 
been abandoned, and that the Modrufell Society no longer exists. 



REYKJAVIK. 173 

Reykium, and reached the capital just four days before the 
vessel set sail which was to carry him back to Denmark. 

The two lesser journeys — those of 1815 — had occupied 
respectively forty-four days, and. thirty. Together they 
had included a course of fourteen hundred miles. The 
result and the effects were much the same as those of his 
tour in 1814. Though a brisk trade had been carried on 
during the winter, the outstanding orders in many places 
exceeded the number of copies that remained on hand. 
For particulars on this head, as also on the dress, food, 
dwellings, manners, character, and history of the people, on 
the characteristics of their poetry, and on the geological 
features and natural productions of the country, the reader 
must be referred to the printed Journal. 

Modern travellers have given an unfavourable impression 
as regards a lack of hospitality on the part of the islanders ; 
but Dr. Henderson, when he read such allegations, was 
inclined to believe that either unwarrantable anticipations 
must have been formed, or the poverty of the nation for- 
gotten, or perhaps their generosity claimed as a right in- 
stead of having been accepted as a favour. No doubt the 
mission on which he went, had a certain amount of influ- 
ence in conciliating goodwill. This it was which caused 
him to be received " as an angel from heaven," his work 
compared to " that of an apostle," and the books, distributed 
by him, likened to " the manna from above." But there 
were instances, not a few, in which ready hospitality was 
shown, before he had had time to make his errand known. 
If he pitched his tent between two farms, the inhabitants 
would vie with each other as to which could bring- the 
largest dish of cream. By rich and poor he was alike 
welcomed and befriended.* " What I have give I thee," 
* Vol i. p. 252 ; vol. ii. pp. 52, 73, etc. 



174 SECOND JOURNEY. 

were the words silently embodied in the offerings of the 
peasantry, — cream from one; coffee from another; eider- 
duck's eggs from a third. It was not novelty which made 
the stranger acceptable ; for where two travellers had 
passed only a short time before, he was received as eagerly 
as if he had been the only visitant in half a century. Nor 
is it needful to resolve their conduct into the expression of 
a sordid self-interest. It is seldom difficult, and among 
an unsophisticated people it would be peculiarly easy, for 
an unprejudiced eye to distinguish between the hard 
features of avarice and the open countenance of generosity. 
Poverty, it is true, could not refuse a recompense, when 
offered ; but there was no cupidity, making its demand. 
All was sincere, simple-minded, liberal-hearted kindness. 
One exception only was met with, and that was in the 
neighbourhood of a household notorious in the district for 
their utter lawlessness ; but the traveller always carried 
provisions with him, and he would have felt no personal 
inconvenience from their churlishness, had not his stock 
of bread failed at that very crisis, and thus subjected him 
to a privation which proved greater than he was prepared 
to find it. 

In the moral and religious disposition of the people, he 
was interested. One anecdote he records, which to the 
admirers of Wordsworth will have its special interest — a 
proof of that oneness of nature which " makes the whole 
world kin." It is thus worded : " I could not but notice 
the manner in which my hostess" — (a peasant's wife) — 
" spoke of her children. On my inquiring how many she 
had, her reply was, ' I have four. Two of them are here 
with us, and the other two are with God. It is best with 
those that are with Him ; and my chief concern about the 
two that remain is that they may reach heaven in safety.'" 



COPENHAGEN. 175 

As to the amount of vital godliness which may have been 
prevalent, he does not venture a definite opinion, as in no 
place except Reykiavik did he stay long enough to enable 
his arriving at very positive results. There were individual 
cases, nevertheless, of which he was prepared to form a 
very high estimate. In a letter to a friend, he expressed 
himself as follows : — 

" The Icelander knows nothing of any covenanted works, formulas, 
nor anything of the almost endless tribes of ans and ists. What he 
principally knows, and to know it is eternal life, is ' Jesus Christ, 
and him crucified,' — the only theme a Paul would know as the sub- 
ject of his ministrations 

" In some places attempts have been made to sow the seeds of 
Deism and rational Christianity ; but they would not take root, and the 
disseminators have been put to shame. The faith of some was, how- 
ever, hy this means shaken. . . . Most of them seemed afraid of me 
at first, taking it for granted that I must side with the fashionable 
party, but when they heard me at once declare myself the advocate 
of the gospel, they afterwards seemed to listen to everything I said 
as to an oracle." 

We have now to follow him across the ocean, and to 
note his arrival in Copenhagen, on Sept. 6th, after a short 
passage of only seventeen days. It was high time that he 
should return, as far as his wardrobe was concerned. At 
least, so it may be inferred from an incidental allusion in 
his Journal. " Being/' he said, " the first foreigner this 
family had ever seen, they were much struck with my ap- 
pearance, and put me down for a Hofdingi or chief; though 
in my native country, I should rather, from the appearance 
of my dress, have passed for a pedlar " (vol ii. p. 86). It 
may here be observed, in passing, that throughout the 
years of his early and middle life, he was distinguished for 
the scrupulous neatness of his attire ; and it excited the 
surprise of many among his friends to learn that his tailors' 
bills were so low in figure and so infrequent in recurrence, 



176 - SECOND JOURNEY. 

while his apparel every day, and all day long, bespoke the 
gentleman rather than the student. 

One of his first concerns, on landing, was to examine 
into the prosperity of the Danish Bible Society and the 
amount of its doings. He found that it had only a name 
to live. He stirred up the members of its Committee to 
action. Regular business-meetings began to be held. The 
Faroese Gospel of Matthew was taken in hand ;* and the 
Moravian Missionaries were consulted as to the best version 
of the Creolese to be adopted as a standard. While these 
matters were being arranged, Mr. Henderson visited his old 
friends at Elsineur, where he learned that the chapel was 
about to be " re-consecrated," and a clergyman sent out to 
fill the pulpit. Gottenburgh, also, was not forgotten; and 
the church, which had there been formed, still shared his 
earnest care. Learning that Mr. Aikman and Mr. Dick 
had come over at this time to the Continent with a view 
to the revival of the cause in Hamburgh, he wrote to the 
former in these terms : — 

" It was almost a pity you could not take Gottenburgh in your 
way. There are not, indeed, so many English there ; but there are 
many who understand the language, and who have a desire to hear 
the gospel. Should the mission to the Continent be followed up, I 
really think Gottenburgh should not be forgotten. In some respects 
it is more important than Hamburgh, as something has been done 
there beforehand, and a greater degree of religious disposition pre- 
vails. Another of my dear friends there, one of the brightest orna- 
ments of our little church, has lately gone to join the general 
assembly and church of the first-born. She was a most intelligent, 
consistent, and shining Christian; and being connected with the best 
families in the place, the sphere of her influence was far from being 
circumscribed. Her death has made a great impression upon the inha- 
bitants, and there is reason to hope may prove life to some of them." 

* It was not till 1821 that this Gospel was ready. It was prepared 
with the Danish and Faroese in parallel columns. The edition sufficed to 
supply each family in the islands with a copy. (Monthly Extracts, No. 56.) 



LUKD. 177 

It will be remembered, that on a visit to Lund in 18 IS, 
Mr. Henderson had taken steps to break up the ground 
and prepare the way for the forming of a Bible Society in 
Scania. In November, 1815, he went over to see what had 
been or could yet be done. The infant Society had just 
drawn its first breath, a fortnight prior to his arrival. The 
following is his letter to Mr. Paterson, then at St. Peters- 
burgh : — 

" .... It gives me great satisfaction to be able to inform you, and 
through you the friends of the Bible cause in the Russian Empire, 
that an institution of a similar nature with other Bible societies, was 
established at this University on the 10th inst. The day chosen for 
this purpose was the most appropriate imaginable — the birthday of 
the immortal Luther, to whose zealous defence of revealed truth, 
we are in a great measure indebted for the free access we have to it 
at this day. The Right Rev. Bishop Faxe took the lead on the 
occasion ; began the solemnity — (for it was an animating religious 
solemnity) — with prayer to the Father of lights, after which he held 
a suitable speech ; read the laws which it had been agreed upon by 
several friends should form the basis and constitution of the Society, 
— which were all adopted by the assembly. The Bishop himself was 
then chosen President, Dr. Wahlin (the Archdeacon) Vice-President, 
Dr. Hagberg and Prost Hellstenius, Secretaries; and as members of 
Committee, Professors Norberg, Hylander, Engelhart, etc. etc." 

Such a galaxy of brilliant names must not be passed 
by. To the recipient of this letter no explanation was 
needed ; but the reader will be glad of a momentary inter- 
ruption, if it tend to throw light on the actors in the scene. 
The volume entitled "Tegner och hans samtida i Lund" 
again supplies the needed hints. Bishop William Faxe 
was an ecclesiastic of mature judgment, gentle manners, 
conciliating temper, kind forethought, and undeviating 
candour. In his political views he was a Conservative, and 
against all that was Utopian he decidedly set his face; but 
such movements as seemed likely to be of practical utility 
met with his cordial support. It was ever his aim, no less 

N 



178 SECOND JOURNEY. 

in theology than in all things else, to steer an even course 
between the opposite extremes. In his diocesan adminis- 
tration he so deported himself, that Tegner, when appointed 
to the see of Wexio, sought and obtained a temporary seat 
in the chapter of Lund that he might be trained under 
so experienced a guide, — and Agardh, when nominated 
Bishop of Carlstad, publicly declared that Faxe, who had 
formerly been his superior, should thenceforth be his 
exemplar. Archdeacon Wahlin was a man of less note, 
and was thought to have owed his promotion rather to 
favour than to any extraordinary fitness for his office. He 
is said to have been upright and open-hearted; but to have 
cared little whether he was ranked highest as a scholar or 
a theologian. Dr. Charles Peter Ha^bero:, Theological 
Professor, and Director of the Seminary, was one of the 
most popular preachers in Lund, and became one of the last 
survivors of that literary coterie, which under the name of 
the " Herberge " had existed in the days of his youth, and 
of which Tegner had been the centre and the soul. Hells- 
tenius w r as a diligent student of Swedenborg's writings, 
and retained his love for them to his dying day. He was 
honoured and loved by many, and was one that worked 
quietly for the spread of divine truth in a gentle, peaceful, 
and evangelic spirit, — esteemed all the more, perhaps, by 
his contemporaries, if he had low T er ideas than the zealous- 
hearted Hy lander as to the aggressive duties which devolve 
on such as belong to the church militant. In the spread 
of the Bible, however, he took a lively interest ; and after 
a consistent course of humble piety, he was taken hence to 
enter doubtless on the joys of the " New Jerusalem/' above. 
Dr. J. H. Engelhart was professor of medicine in the 
University, but it was probably very soon after our present 
date that he resolved to renounce his academic status, and 



LUND. 179 

enter on clerical duties. This change of avocation caused 
no little excitement. When he handed in his thesis as a 
candidate for orders, the theological faculty were ready to 
ask, " Is Saul also among the prophets ?" Yet it was im- 
possible for them to deny his qualifications for the office, 
and impossible to refuse his suit. Rumour, busy and mali- 
cious in Sweden as elsewhere, whispered that he intended 
only to assume the duties without discharging the functions 
of the ministry. But when he rose up in the cathedral of 
Lund, and poured forth a strain of fervid eloquence which 
melted the audience to tears, it was admitted on all hands 
that none could divide the word of truth more powerfully 
or more persuasively than he who in due time became the 
rector of Fellingsbro. If he truly preached Christ cruci- 
fied, his flock must have been a favoured one. 
The letter concerning Sweden thus proceeds : — 

" On my arrival here I was sorry to learn that the Bishop was 
absent on a visitation, from which he does not return for several 
days yet ; but I went immediately, and waited on our dear friend 
Dr. Hylander, from whom I met with the kindest reception, and 
Cancelleradet Prof. Norberg, whose acquaintance I had made in 
1812. It is hardly possible for me to describe the joy he manifested on 
my presenting him with a copy of the Turkish New Testament. As 
he is the first Oriental scholar in Europe, I knew it would interest 
the Society at home, as well as foreign friends, to hear his opinion as 
to the merits of the Translation. This he has since given me, and 
it is in the highest degree satisfactory. He esteems the version to 
be highly faithful, and done in a style at once dignified and plain. 
To-morrow I am to spend entirely with him. 

" . . . . Dr. Hagberg, the principal Secretary, is a most excellent 
man, the fittest that could be found for the post. He is the second 
Professor in Divinity. The foundation is laid, and appears to be well 
laid. I propose the erection of Branch Societies in Malmo, Land- 
scrona, etc., as also, where practicable, Bible associations. In the first 
mentioned place are several heartily disposed for the cause, especially 
the Dean, Mr. Gullander, who is a member of the Evangelical 
Society in Stockholm ; and a Mr. Bagger, their agent, a very warm- 



180 SECOND JOURNEY. 

hearted, pious, and active Christian merchant. A few weeks ago he 
sold 200 dollars'-worth of Bibles and small tracts to two peasants 
from Smalandia, who intended on their return to bring them into 
circulation. Since coming here I have spent several happy hours in 
the company of Zion's pilgrims, whose hearts were rejoiced to hear 
of the spread of the gospel of Christ. I do not know if you have 
seen the circular letter of the Clergy at this year's Diet. It is a most 
interesting document, and augurs much good. A great change in 
regard to the public doctrine is unequivocally recognised. • The feeble 
echoes of Socinianism and Deism,' are said to be meeting with in- 
creasing disapprobation. The tone is decidedly scriptural, and gives 
us every rational hope of a glorious day of grace for Sweden. As 
our common friend, Dr. Hylander, intends adding a postscript to 
this letter, it is not in my power to make it longer than my last from 
Copenhagen. . . . 
" May you ever experience the richness of redeeming love ! 

" Yours in the strongest bonds, 

" Ebenezer Henderson " 

A letter dated Copenhagen, Dec. 26th, thus reports the 
state of things in both the University-towns : — 

" I might leave this at any time for all that I am doing here at 
present. Things languish, and will continue to languish, till the 
word of God again takes possession of the pulpits, till the preachers 
publicly insist upon its Divine authority and importance, and recom- 
mend its diligent and serious perusal to their hearers. It ought also 
to be made a school-book: but the period, I fear, is very distant, 
when that shall be the case in Denmark. 

"In Lund, things are going on with vigour.* They have published 
their protocol, together with the Bishop's Circular, in which my 
plan of Bible Associations is inserted and recommended. The Pro- 
fessors did me the honour to drink my health lately at Prof. Nor- 
berg's ! They feel much interested in your success, and are greatly 
obliged by your two letters to the Society. Their principal Secretary 
Dr. (and Prof.) Hagberg leaves them, having obtained Clara Church 
in Stockholm ; but he will become an active member of the General 

* To this Society, the London Committee voted a grant of £300. It 
long continued to take a high stand among the Swedish Societies. In 
1816, it sent out 8000 Bibles and Testaments (see Thirteenth Report of 
the British and Foreign Bible Society, Appendix, p. 277). 



COPENHAGEN. 181 

Swedish Bible Society. He is a man of good parts, and an active 
turn of mind. I had letters from them all lately. They wish for 
another visit ; but really they so frightened me with calasses, that I 
shrink from the adventurous attempt." 

There was not much immunity in the neighbour-country 
from this penalty, if penalty it can be called. A collatz is 
not unknown to the Danes either in word or deed. They 
ask their friends to a " butter-brod," and spread before 
them a substantial as well as elegant repast. Both from 
the native and the foreign residents in Copenhagen, Mr. 
Henderson received many a hospitable invitation. From 
Mr. (afterwards Sir Augustus) Foster, the British ambas- 
sador, he was favoured with much kind attention. 

The characters he met with were many and various. 
" Mr. Henderson," said his host on one occasion, " here is 
a gentleman on his way to Iceland ; as you have so recently 
been there, perhaps you could give him a little assistance. 
Can you tell him whether he is likely to find a lodging on 
his arrival at Reykiavik ?" It scarcely needed a moment's 
thought, before the ready answer was given : " It may 
seem strange, your Excellency, that I should name the 
House of Correction." An indescribable look of painfully 
suppressed risibility suddenly went round the table. " Allow 
me to explain," he immediately added; i( the fact is that 
the Icelanders bear for the most part an exemplary moral 
character; so much so, indeed, that a culprit is rarely 
brought into the prison; the gaol thus remains untenanted, 
except when the governor and his wife find a lodger for a 
couple of rooms which they have fitted up for the purpose ; 
and being a good-sized whitewashed building, it is the 
cleanest and most respectable lodging that could be had ; 
I have no hesitation, therefore, in repeating that, all things 
considered, I can think of no place more suitable than the 



182 SECOND JOURNEY. 

Reykiavik House of Correction." The words were uttered 
in all simplicity ; but again they were received with the 
same mysterious look, as if some double meaning was 
thought to lurk beneath. At an early opportunity, Mr. 
Henderson repaired to a Dane, whom he knew to be a 
wonderful collector of all the odds and ends of home and 
foreign gossip, — one who had been able, on their first inter- 
view, to furnish the name even of the Dunfermline parish- 
minister, and who was likelier therefore than most others to 
solve the present enigma. " Do you know anything about 

an Englishman, named R , who is now in Copenhagen 

on his way to Iceland?" " Wait a minute, and you shall 
know all about him." A drawer was opened, full of scraps 
cut out of newspapers. Search was made, and at length a 
document produced, wherein it was stated that the said 

R had been one of the Irish rebels, but had turned 

King's Evidence ; that he had been rewarded by a Govern- 
ment-appointment at ; that this appointment had 

proved so obnoxious to the English residing in those parts, 
as to necessitate his recall ; and that now he was being 
despatched in an official capacity to Iceland, as a place 
where he might be least molested by the reproaches of his 
countrymen. It was manifest that the sentences, which 
had been spoken in utter innocence, had as fairly hit the 
mark as if aimed with a set design. 

The winter wore away, and in respect to Bible-work 
little was being transacted by the Committee, except in the 
preparation of a new revised version, which was intended to 
come out under royal authority. It was painful to see that 
the distribution of Scriptures already on hand was a matter 
little heeded. This torpor was the result in part, perhaps, 
of a national failing. " A laisser alter kind of feeling exists 
concerning their affairs, amounting almost to indifference/' 



COPENHAGEN. 183 

says a recent traveller.* In this case, however, it was 
traceable in still larger measure to the prevalence of that 
religious lukewarmness, which was content with the form 
of piety. The few who were zealous, were chilled and 
thwarted by the many who, at every turn, threw stumbling- 
blocks in the way. But better times were at hand. The 
work was to have a wider range, and life in the provinces 
was to send back its healthful current of vitality to restore 
the failing energies of the metropolis. Schleswig, which 
had been the cradle of Danish Christianity at the first, was 
to take a prominent place in the promotion of Bible-effort. 
It was desirable at this juncture to fan the lately-kindled 
flame in some districts, and to apply the kindling spark in 
others. By dint of perseverance, and even of importunity, 
Mr. Henderson at length gained the full sanction of the 
Copenhagen Committee to his making a tour on the main- 
land, with a view of encouraging the affiliated societies that 
were already formed, and establishing similar institutions 
where none were yet existent. 

Furnished with letters of recommendation, he commenced 
his journey, April 2, 1816. His short notices, though 
touching on important matters, give a mere glance at per- 
sons and places, as he hurried on from station to station, 
with his heart bent on the work in hand, and his study of 
human nature subordinated chiefly to the bearing it might 
have upon his mission. No egotism was this, nor selfish- 
ness, nor contractedness of view, but a purposed concentra- 
tion of every energy, on the " one thing " entrusted to his 
stewardship. He was one who could form a correct esti- 
mate of character, and possessed no small tact in dealing with 
its varieties of development ; but he had neither the time 

* Scott's " Swedes and Danes," p. 62. 



184 SECOND JOURNEY. 

nor the turn for moral portrait-painting. It will be best 
to furnish his rough notes of the tour in his own simple and 
unstudied words, as penned for the eye of friendship, intent 
to trace his every movement. Such passages only shall 
be omitted as could interest none but the party addressed. 

" On the 2nd [of April] T left Copenhagen ; arrived the same 
evening at Corsoer ; crossed the Great Belt next forenoon in two and 
a half hours, and arrived in the evening at Odense. Next day I 
presented the letter to Bishop Plum, who received me kindly, but 
lamented that as he was to take his departure for Copenhagen on the 
morrow, it would not be in his power to do anything in the matter 
at that time. My hopes were thus sadly damped ; for on the success 
or failure of the business here, I built my dependence for the other 
dioceses. However, he invited me to dinner, when he informed me 
he had been with Prince Christian,* who had desired him to present 
me to His Highness in the evening. It was as if a window had been 
opened in heaven. The Prince received me very graciously, entered 
with much spirit into the cause of the Society, paid me a very high 
compliment relative to my services in Iceland, and conversed in the 
freest manner about the eligibility of a Fyen Auxiliary Bible Society. 
His Highness was of opinion that the 7th of May would be the 
fittest time for erecting such a Society, as then a meeting of the 
Literary Society is held at Odense, at which all the leading people 
are present 

" On the 5th I drove out to His Excellency Privy Counsellor 
Billow's, — a man of deep religious sentiment, a patronizer of learn- 
ing, and a promoter of every good work. The plan met with his 
entire approbation, and he assured me of his most active services. 
A happier day I have not spent these many years. I hope he will 
be President. The evening I spent at the house of Lieut.-Col. 
Guldberg, — a son of the immortal translator of the New Testament. 
Next morning, as I was about to set off for Wigerslow, I had a 
visit from Mr. Adler, Secretary to Prince Christian ; and imme- 
diately after, an invitation to dine with His Highness, which I was 
under the necessity of declining, everything being ready for my 
departure. Mr. Adler engaged to make my apology. 

" I can hardly describe to you my feelings, when I again heard a 
gospel-sermon from Mr. Boesen. Another such season I had not 

* The Crown-Prince, who in 1838 ascended the throne as Christian VIII. 
on the death of his half-cousin, Frederick VI. 



JUTLAND. 185 

enjoyed since Grundtvig preached last in Copenhagen.* The time 
I spent with Boesen and Balsler was edifying and encouraging to 
hoth parties. From them I took my way into Jutland. Bishop 
Birch of Aarhuus gave me a hearty welcome ; as did also His 
Excellency Privy Counsellor Gyldencrone, the Stiftamtmand,f with 
whom I dined, in company with the Bishop and a learned Professor, 
Rector of the School. Eleven hundred rix-dollars have heen col- 
lected for the Society by the Bishop : but he seems inimical to the 
new revision ; wishes the Danish Bible to be reprinted as it is, 
only with an explanatory note here and there. Leaving him to 
peruse the laws, etc., I set off for Wiborg ; called on Bishop Bloch, 
the most profound Greek scholar in Denmark. I was happy to find 
he could speak [English], and took an uncommon interest in the 
Reports I gave him. I was repeatedly with him, conversed fully over 
every point connected with the establishment of auxiliaries, and ob- 
tained his promise that a Society should be formed at the next meet- 
ing of the Synod in the month of July." 

In Aalborg, the reception was not so favourable, and no 
effort to change the current of feeling would avail. Having 
a few days to spare before the anticipated meeting in the 



* The Rev. Nicolay Frederik Severin Grundtvig, a preacher who 
excited much attention in his early career, hailed by some as " a new 
Luther," but denounced by others as "hyper-orthodox." His warmth 
and energy made him popular as a preacher, though very unsparing as a 
polemic writer. In reference to the vehemence of his expressions, my 
father once described him as " a Sandeman in Denmark." A sermon of 
his, which was printed (about 1812) produced a great stir. Copies of it 
soon became scarce in the market ; those who were fortunate enough to 
possess it, were with difficulty persuaded to lend it for perusal, and de- 
clared they would not part with it for its weight in gold, scarce as the 
latter article then was. In 1813, he published his " Ivort Begreb af Yerdens 
Kronike i Sammenhceng," in which his object was to " develope the 
operations of Divine providence in the relation they bear to the manifes- 
tation of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom in the world," and 
in which he took occasion to make very strong animadversions on the 
Rationalism, of the day, and to pass very free censures on the clergy and 
professors of his own land. This publication produced a still more 
marked excitement, and evoked for its author the antagonism of the cele- 
brated H. C. Oersted. Grundtvig's later works, historical and antiqua- 
rian, have been very numerous. 

f That is, Lord Lieutenant. 



186 SECOND JOURNEY. 

capital of Funen, Mr. Henderson spent them at the peaceful 
Moravian retreat of Christiansfeld. After a few hours 
spent at Wonsild, and a night at Seest near Kolding, he 
again reached Odense, whence he writes : — 

On May 1st, the day after my arrival at this place, I again waited 
on His Highness Prince Christian, who received me in the same 
gracious and condescending manner as before, and made particular 
enquiry how I had found matters in Jutland. When I informed him 
of my reception in Aalborg, he expressed his regret that he had not 
given me a letter to Count Molke, the Stiftamtmand ; but he ima- 
gined the Bishop would have introduced me to him. On the 3rd, 
1 had the honour of dining at Court ; but felt much fettered by the 
presence of a number of the first people in the place, who seemed to 
listen with much attention to an Englishman speaking Danish. 
Both before and after dinner, the Princess* made many enquiries 
about the Bible Society, Iceland, etc. ; and on the breaking up of the 
company, His Highness invited me to return at seven o'clock in the 
evening, and bring some drawings with me which I had got pre- 
pared in Copenhagen. To my great satisfaction there was nobody 
present but the ladies of honour to the Princess, and my good friend 
Secretary Adler. The drawings were presented, and your humble 
servant was under the necessity of lecturing for more than an hour 
on the different phenomena which they represented. Happily the 
subjects were all familiar to me, having had occasion to study 
them thoroughly. The Prince then left us to drink tea by ourselves, 
when a conversation commenced on Buchanan's Researches, Bible 
exertions, and the circumstances and customs of the Icelanders, — the 
most interesting imaginable. The Princess took the deepest interest 
in every part of the discourse. She had read Buchanan in German, 
and her first lady of honour, Baroness Elkin, had read him both in 
English and German. A sweeter and more amiable lady than the 
Princess I have not yet met with.f There is such a degree of mild 



* The Princess Caroline Amelia, eldest child of Frederick Christian, 
Duke of Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburgh ; and grand- daughter of 
George III.'s sister, Queen Caroline Matilda of Denmark. Prince Chris- 
tian (afterwards Christian VIII.) had spent much of his early life with 
the ducal family of Augustenburgh, from which he took the bride who not 
only shared but graced his throne. 

f The readers of "Evangelical Christendom" will remember the notices 
of this Royal Lady, in the second volume of that periodical, wherein she 



ODENSE. 187 

majesty in her look, that I felt quite at ease the whole evening ; 
and indeed there is much of the same amiableness in the Prince. 
Between tea and supper, I had an opportunity afforded me of talk- 
ing- over some matters with him relative to Iceland, which met with 
the attention their importance merited, and I hope the time will 
come when they shall be carried into execution with regard to the 
worthy inhabitants of that distant island. The principal subject was 
the re-establishment of a school at Holum. 

" The following morning I set off at 5 o'clock with the Bishop 
to Assens and Middelfart, at both of which places we met the Prince, 
and proceeded in company with him to all the public institutions, 
such as schools, church, hospital, etc. ; all of which he examined in 
the most minute manner. On this tour I made the acquaintance of 
several clergymen and others, who engaged to interest themselves 
for the Bible cause. In Assens I was much with Pastor Hornsyld, 
whom I found to be truly the Rowland Hill of Denmark. On the 
way to Middelfart, I was captured by an Amtsprovst Holm, with 
whom I spent a night, and then travelled to Middelfart with him 
next day. I got him fully initiated into the plan of Branch Societies 
and Bible Associations, which I hope soon to hear are in full activity. 

" On the 7th, the Literary Society met at ten o'clock. Their 
transactions lasted till near five. Your humble servant was nomi- 
nated extraordinary member. Most of the members dined with the 
Prince, where we made some amends for the long fast we had en- 
dured. To convince you of the deep interest which His Highness 
takes in the cause, I need only mention that though he must have 
been uncommonly fatigued with the exertion of the preceding day, 
he appeared again in the Consistory Hall yesterday morning [May 8], 
at eight o'clock, in the midst of a respectable meeting that assembled 
under his auspices for the purpose of establishing an Auxiliary Bible 
Society for Fyen, His Highness took the chair, and conducted the 
business in the most admirable manner 

" Thus, I hope, by the Divine blessing, that a foundation has been 
laid in the Danish provinces. May the Great Head of the Church 
pour down his Spirit to quicken the dead, and invigorate the debili- 
tated, that trees of righteousness may again grow in the land, the 

planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified Pray, and 

pray much for me, that I may walk worthy of the Lord in all 
things, and ever bear about with me a savour of the crucified 
Redeemer." 

is described in later life as "a truly Christian Queen," "exemplary in 
every relation of life," and " whose earthly crown was ever a bauble in 
her eyes compared with her heavenly one," pp. 84, 121. 



188 SECOND JOURNEY. 

Another letter thus resumes the narrative : — 

" On the 12th inst., when I went to the Palace, according to ap- 
pointment, for the purpose of taking leave of the Prince, I was 
presented to the Duchess of Augustenburgh* (the beloved daughter 
of Queen Matilda), and her sons, the young Duke, and Prince 
Frederick ; — when I was happy to be informed that only a few days 
before their leaving the island,! a Society had been formed in con- 
nection with the Schleswig-Holstein Bible Society. The inhabitants 
do not wish in any way to stand under Fyen, and as if they had 
anticipated what was about to take place, they hastened to join the 
friends here [Schleswig]. Both the Prince and Princess wished me 
a hearty farewell, and much success to my undertaking ; and His 
Royal Highness added that should I ever return to Denmark, I would 
find him in Copenhagen. 

" From Odense, I proceeded directly across South Jutland to Ribe, 
where I met the most friendly reception from the Bishop ;J but, I 
am sorry to add, I found the same coldness as in other parts of Jut- 
land for the Divine oracles. All is dead ; only five or six people in 
the church, most frequently. However, he promised on the return of 
the Stiftamtmand to see what could be done. The Archdeacon, 
brother to the Stiftamtmand, also promised to assist. I left Ribe 
again on the 18th, and arrived the same evening at our dear friend 
Windekilde's [at Wielstrup]. In his parish, there is much true piety; 
nearly two hundred who make the interests of their immortal souls 
their main concern, and expect salvation alone from Him who died 
on the cross to effect the redemption of sinners. On the Sabbath 

morning, I heard an excellent sermon from Mr. W , and in the 

afternoon addressed about sixty people in his Sal. The Lord gave 
me much courage and liberty, so that I spake with as much readiness 
as in my native language. The subject, ' God will never forsake His 
people.' 

"On the 20th I visited Pastor Matthiessen of Loydt. Both 
here and at Wielstrup. subscription-lists for the Bible Society are in 
circulation. The evening I spent in Apenrade, one of the most 
paradisaical spots perhaps in the world. Dean Paulsen had already 

* Louisa Augusta, only daughter of King Christian VII., sister to the 
then reigning monarch, and mother of the Princess Caroline Amelia before- 
named. The Duchess had been two years a widow ; and her sons were, 
respectively, eighteen and sixteen years of age. 

f Alsen, in which is situated the palace of Augustenburgh. 

J The Right Rev. Victor Christian Hiort then held the diocese, having 
been appointed to the office in 1811. 



SCHLESTVIG. 189 

been prepared for my coming by a letter from the Baroness Elkin 
from Augustenburgh ; and both with him and the Amtmand, Karn- 
merherre Stehman, I talked fully over the eligibility of establishing 
an Auxiliary Society in the place, to which all the Bible Associations 
in the Amt might have recourse. The plan took: and on the day 
of Pentecost, the Dean is to discourse on the subject, and then imme- 
diately carry it into effect. 

On the 21st, in the evening, I arrived in Schleswig, and the follow- 
ing morning waited on Provst Callisen,* who received me with open 
arms. He is truly a second Steinkopff; is all life and fire, and quite 
the soul of the Institution at this place. The Schleswig-Holstein 
Bible Society owes its foundation, and in a great measure its pro- 
gress and success to his judgment, zeal, and piety. Filial associations 
are formed, or forming, almost everywhere. One was formed the 
other day at the University of Kiel, and another very important 

branch at Rendsburg The General Superintendent Adler 

returns from his visitation this evening, and I wait on him to-mor- 
row. Do you know that one of the Directors of the Bible Society, 
here, the Xammerjunker von Warnstedt, is the brother of the 
present Mrs. Carey ? Her letters have been the means of his con- 
version, and he is one of the most active friends of the Society. . . . 
Yesterday (May 23rd) I had the honour to be presented to the 
worthy and venerable President of the Society, His Serene Highness 
the Landgrave Charles, father to the present Queen of Denmark, 
and grandson of George II. of England. f I spent nearly two hours 
with him in his private cabinet, and am again to have audience to- 
day, and afterwards to dine at Court. He has a wonderful know- 
ledge, not only of the Scriptures, but also of literature. He is ex- 
tremely affable and condescending." 

* The Rev. Christian Friedrich Callisen, the author of many popular 
works, chiefly hand-books or compendia on scientific and other subjects. 

f It will be remembered by most readers, that in 1740, the Princess 
Mary of England became the bride of Frederick II., Hereditary Prince 
(afterwards Landgrave) of Hesse-Cassel. This potentate went over to the 
Roman Catholic faith, but his father William VIII., then Landgrave, 
took steps to prevent his exercising authority over the education of his 
sons. The Princess Mary, separated from her husband, retired with her 
children to Zell. Her eldest son, William IX., succeeded to the possession 
of Hanau, on the grandfather's decease, and afterwards rose to the style 
and title of "Elector," while the second son, Charles, came into possession 
of the landgravate, and was Stattholder of Schleswig-Holstein. The date 
of Charles's birth was 17-44. At the time referred to in this narrative he 
had already completed his threescore years and ten. 



190 SECOND JOURNEY. 

The strong attachment of the aged Landgrave to the 
Bible cause was extremely marked. He, and his Royal 
Consort (Louisa, youngest daughter of Frederick V. of 
Denmark), had been the first to enter their names as sup- 
porters of the Society. The anniversary-speeches which he 
made, were interesting for their appropriateness and variety. 
Instead of pursuing a beaten track, wearisome from its 
familiarity, and instead also of wandering with vague and 
aimless uncertainty amid a multiplicity of themes, he 
always selected an apt Scripture allusion as the basis of 
his few but judicious remarks. One year he dwelt on 
Amos viii. 11, adverting to Denmark's temporal mercies 
and spiritual destitution, — other countries mourning a 
failure of their harvests, while her golden crops had been 
gathered in abundance, — other lands rejoicing in the wide 
diffusion of the bread of life, while her inhabitants were 
unsupplied with the precious boon. Another year, the 
past and present aspect of Danish Christianity was his 
theme ; the gospel hidden, almost forgotten, scorned, and 
laughed at by the free-thinkers, — but now restored, re- 
published, and wide-spread, he likened to the book of the 
law, — lost in the days of Manasseh and Amon, but again 
found, and honoured, and proclaimed, and obeyed, in the 
days of Hilkiah the priest. The patronage which His 
Serene Highness extended was peculiarly valuable, owing 
to his twofold connection with the reigning family. Each 
year he secured for the Schleswig-Holstein Society a mes- 
sage of congratulation and encouragement, signed by the 
royal hand, — generally brief, but always cordial. 

The Landgrave was fond of his pen, and wrote a neat 
legible hand. On one occasion, however, his signature 
" Charles L. of Hesse " was singularly misunderstood. The 
party in London, to whom it was addressed, being gone 



SCHLESWIG. 191 

abroad, it was opened on due authority by the clerk left to 
transact business. Judging from the tone and style of the 
letter, that it had been written by a clergyman, he directed 
a note, accounting for the delay of a final answer, to " the 
Rev. Charles L. Hesse, Louisenlund, near Schleswig." 
Instead of being offended, the latter felt himself compli- 
mented by such a superscription, took delight in telling the 
story, and exclaimed as the glad-hearted tears bedewed his 
aged cheek, " Ah ! he did me such an honour — such an 
honour — he called me i Reverend.' " Distinguished by an 
eminently catholic spirit, he carried his liberality of senti- 
ment to some excess. He had a favourite idea, that all 
forms of religion are but so many emanations from primary 
truth. He thought that the Brahminical Shasters, if 
rightly explained, could be paralleled with Christian 
Revelation ; nay, that the two are to all intents and pur- 
poses so essentially harmonious, that the Hindoos, without 
embracing the religion of the Europeans, may become ser- 
vants of the same God, and partakers of the same salvation 
with ourselves. He deemed it likely that his theory would 
obtain confirmation, if the sacred writings of Thibet could 
be subjected to a closer investigation, and was most urgent 
in endeavouring to persuade Mr. Henderson to undertake 
an express mission to the court of the Dalai Lama with this 
end in view. His entreaties were unavailing, however, 
with one who had other work in hand, and was not thus 
to be diverted from its prosecution. 

The letter, which should follow next in order, is missing, 
but the fragment of a journal fills up the blank, and gives 
us an account of further visits to the palace of Gottorp. 

" [May] 24. Had again an audience of H. S. H. the Landgrave, 
after which I was introduced to Her Royal Highness the Princess, 
and the Princess the Abbess of Itzehoe, and then dined at Court. 



192 SECOND JOURNEY. 

After dinner, spent about an hour with the Landgrave, in his private 
cabinet ; and the rest of the evening- at Mr. Callisen's. On the in- 
stitution of an enquiry, in certain parts it was found that many 
poor families were destitute of the Scriptures ; that of ten servants 
not one had a Bible of their own ; that of twenty young people of 
all ranks, that received confirmation, not ten took this invaluable 
work with them into the world." 

The next paragraph gives the promise (subsequently 
realized) of a visit to the Rendsburg and Eckernfiorde 
circle, so well known to the readers of Niebuhr and 
Perthes. 

" 25. Dined with H. S. H., and spent the rest of the evening with 
Mr. Hansen, Controller of the Customs, and Treasurer of the Bible 
Society, a truly pious and active man. At dinner I had the honour 
of forming the acquaintance of Count Stolberg from Windeby, a 
nobleman who has the cause of religion much at heart, and who 
gave me a most pressing invitation to spend some days at his estate 
on my way to Kiel. 

"26. Dined again with H. S. H., spent the evening in company with 
Mr. and Mrs. Callisen, at Mr. Warnstedt's, a nephew of Dr. Carey, 
a young man of a truly serious and Christian disposition, who feels 
much interested in the spread of the gospel. 

" 27. Attended a meeting of the Bible Committee, and received a 
letter of recommendation to serve me on a tour through the Duke- 
doms, with the view of accelerating the formation of subordinate 
associations. 

" 28. Left Schleswig, and arrived in Flensburg. 

" 29. Called on the Rev. Messrs. Husmann, Valentiner, Schiott, 
Thamsen, and Jensen. Conversed over the concerns of the Bible 
Society, and the eligibility of an Auxiliary in Flensburg, a town con- 
taining about 14,000 inhabitants. Many difficulties and objections, 
which I did all I could to obviate. 

" 31. Met several of the clergy at Mr. Husmann's, who had the 
kindness to call them together for the purpose of hearing their 
opinion on the subject of a Society. It was resolved that, imme- 
diately after Pentecost, active measures should be taken. 

" June 1. Arrived in Tondern, 25 miles to theN.TV. of Flensburg. 

" 2. Called on Dean Prahl,* with whom I had a long and interesting 

* For a notice of Dean Prahl, and of the deposition of Bishop RehhofT, 
in connection with the political and ecclesiastical troubles of Schleswig in 
1850, see " Evangelical Christendom," vol. iv. p. 116, etc. 



TONDERN. 193 

conversation on the subject of my mission. Subscriptions have 
already been set on foot in the town, and the clergy have been 
recommended to form Bible Associations in each of the forty-three 
churches forming the Deanship. It is not supposed that there are 
any families without a Bible ; but it is seldom that young people or 
servants have a Bible or New Testament of their own. 

" 4. Visited Messrs. RehhofF and Smith, and was introduced by 
the former to Justiciary Richtsen, formerly Burgomaster, a very rich 
man, a warm friend of the gospel, and a patron of the exertions using 
for the spread of the Bible in this place, 

" 5. Left Tondern, and proceeded through Mogel Tondern (in the 
vicinity of which the famous Golden Horns were found) into the 
marshes. In the Reverend Mr. Quetens of Wester Clauxbiil— a 
member of the Fyen Society — I found a truly evangelical minister ; 
— his wife also was a pattern of gospel-influence. Came in the 
evening to Bredstedt. 

" 6. Spent most of the day with the Rev. Mr. Nissen of this place 
a warm friend of the Bible Society and every good work. He has 
already preached a sermon on the subject, and intends the ensuing 
week to organize a Bible Association. I also visited Pastor Autzen 
of Breklum, a man who possesses a surprising acquaintance with the 
Northern and Teutonic languages, and is preparing a Glossarium 
of all the different dialects. Arrived in the evening at Husum. 

" 7. Visited the Dean, etc. Four thousand inhabitants ! No 
church ! ! The old one was pulled down seven years ago. They use 
at present a small miserable-looking place in a hospital. Not above 
ten or twenty hearers in general. Surely if a Bible Society were 
needed anywhere, it is here. 

" 8. Arrived in the evening at Tonning, a town containing up- 
wards of 2000 inhabitants. A Bible Association has already been 
formed here, owing to the zeal and activity of the Rev. Mr. Clausen, 
who gave me a most welcome reception, and spent the evening in 
laying down a plan for enlarging the Society into an Auxiliary to 
embrace the whole of the Eyderstedt district. 

"9. Had a conversation with the President of this Bible Association, 
the Captain of the Pilot-office, who desired me to inform the Society 
that he has become a happy man since he began to read his Bible, 
and especially the New Testament. He was formerly troubled with 
melancholy, but the reading of the New Testament filled his mind 
with tranquillity and joy. 

" 10. Proceeded on to Friederickstad. Nearly 3000 inhabitants, 
Lutherans, Remonstrants, Mennonites, and Jews. Religion at the 
lowest ebb imaginable. The Lutheran clergyman is of opinion that 



194 SECOND JOURNEY. 

the erection of a Bible Association here is wholly impracticable ; yet 
promised to do what he could. The churches almost completely 
empty. Upwards of forty girls, and nearly thirty boys in the school, 
that have no Bible. The Reformed preacher is not disposed to join 
a Society, but intends instituting an enquiry from house to house, 
and will correspond with the Bible Society in Rotterdam. His 
people are mostly Dutch. 

" 12. Arrived in Meldorf. An Auxiliary was formed some weeks 
ago, under the presidency of the Dean. In most of the parishes 
Associations have been formed. Lodged in the house of a Mr. 
Bruhn, a truly Christian merchant, who has long stood in connec- 
tion with the Basel Society. 

" 14. Meeting of the Committee, and most of the town-members of 
the Society. 

" 15. Arrived at Hanerau, the estate of Mr. Manhardt, brother-in- 
law to Van der Smissen.* A Bible Association established on 1st of 
May last. Most of those who form the Committee of management 
have experienced the sovereign efficacy of the gospel on their own 
hearts, and cannot rest satisfied till they have imparted the same 
precious source of knowledge, light, and joy to others. The clergy- 
man enters with his whole soul into the plan ; and in order to give 
it efficacy, he holds a meeting every other Sabbath at his own house, 
in the afternoon, in order to give his hearers a proper idea of the 
right mode of reading the Scriptures. 

" 16. At six in the evening, the friends of the Society met at 
Mr. Manhardt's, in consequence of public intimation from the pulpit ; 
when he introduced me to them, and left me to fight my way with 
a German discourse, the first speech I ever held in this language." 

In writing home, Mr. Henderson describes an incident 
which followed : — " After Mr. Manhardt had concluded a 
number of the most appropriate and interesting observa- 
tions, he took me by the hand, and in the name of the 

* Mr. Yan der Smissen, senior, was one of Whitfield's converts, an 
earnest-minded, kind-hearted, zealous, and hospitable Christian, well 
known as a principal originator and cordial promoter of religious effort in 
Hamburgh. His business was very extensive, "but," as my father wrote 
concerning him, " all is consecrated to the Lord, and carried on with a 
view to His glory." " What shall I say of the house of Yan der Smissen?" 
wrote Dr. Steinkopff ; " their praise is in all the churches ; piety, and the 
blessing of God, seem to descend from father to son, from son to grand- 
son." (Jubilee Memorial of the Religious Tract Society, p. 321.) 



RENDSBURG. 195 

Association, charged me to convey to the British and 
Foreign Bible Society their unfeigned gratitude for the 
illustrious example ivhich had stimulated them to exertion, 
and to assure you that they should undeviatingly follow in 
the path which you have trodden, and pray for the richest 
blessing of Heaven on your noble and unremitting endea- 
vours to impart the words of eternal life to those that are 
near, and to them that are far off."* 

" 20. Left Hanerau, and arrived in the evening in the town of 
Rendsburg. 7000 inhabitants. Here is one of the most flourishing 
Bible Societies that exist in these parts, which owes its formation 
to the zeal and activity of the Very Rev. Dean Callisenf of this 
place. In a circular letter to his clergy, dated Feb. 15, 1816, he 
explained its nature, object, etc. In the weekly paper of Feb. 4, 
a few remarks on Bible Societies in general were inserted for the 
purpose of preparing the minds of the people ; and on the 22nd of 
the same month, an address in the same paper inviting the inha- 
bitants to meet at the house of the Dean on March 1st, in order to 
establish a Society for the Town and Deanery of Rendsburg, to act 
in connection with the Schleswig-Holstein Bible Society, in ' pro- 
curing and distributing, partly at reduced prices, and partly gratis, 
the old and commonly received translation of the Bible by the 
immortal Luther, without note or commentary.' This explicit de- 
claration of the Bible to be used was the more necessary, as many 
entertain the idea that it is the object of the Bible Society to intro- 
duce a new one, — a prejudice occasioned by the publication of a 
Bible in Altona, by a clergyman named Funck, in which the text of 
Luther is printed verbatim, but is interlarded with notes and expla- 
nations, most of which are either unnecessary or imperfect, and many 
of them are in direct opposition to the mind of the Spirit, and are 
evidently designed to serve as a vehicle for conveying the poisonous 
doctrines of modern Deism and Socinianism among the community. 
The Introduction contains many of the most untenable positions of 
the late Theologians in Germany ; and the direct and manifest 
tendency of the whole is to inspire the readers of the Sacred Volume 
with doubts in regard to its validity and Divine authority 

" 22, Drove out to Emkendorf, the estate of Count Reventlow, 

* Thirteenth Annual Report (1817), p. 288. 

f Cousin to the Dean Callisen of Schleswig, mentioned before. 



196 SECOND JOURNEY. 

who is President of the Rendsburg Bible Society, a warm advocate 
of the Bible and the peculiar doctrines of Christianity. I spent two 
days at the Count's. The Countess is a pattern of faith, love, and 
patience ; suffers much in body, but is strong in mind, and especially 
in faith, giving glory to God. She is truly a miracle of grace. 
She has kept her bed for upwards of ten years, but is active in 
correspondence with the lovers of the truth, and is in fact the centre 
of the Christian friends in these parts ; and educates pious young 
men to be afterwards employed in her schools, where a great num- 
ber of children are being trained. Formed also the acquaintance of 
the Countess Stolberg, and a Countess Reventlow, sisters to the 
Count ; both decidedly pious. Also Etatsraad Schonborn." 

It was not long that the excellent Countess above- 
named was spared to manifest either her active or her 
passive graces. The Bible Society's " Monthly Extracts " 
furnish the following paragraph, the interest of which will 
abundantly justify this momentary digression from the 
main theme : — " The Rendsburg Bible Society, organized 
on the 1st of March, 1816, still pursue their course with- 
out interruption ; and are bound gratefully to acknowledge 
that the Lord has blessed their feeble endeavours with 
success. They have great reason to deplore the loss of a 
noble patroness, the Countess Julia of Reventlow at 
Emkendorf; who at the close of the year 1816 terminated 
a life full of suffering, but wholly dedicated to the pro- 
mulgation of true Christianity. Although this now 
glorified saint groaned for many years under the burden 
of disease, and had to struggle with unutterable bodily 
pain, her spirit was active to the last moment of her 
existence, and her thoughts were constantly fixed on the 
one thing needful. Her capacious mind entered with 
wonderful activity into the great cause of the diffusion of 
the word of God, and promoted, even from a sick bed, by 
her example and unabated energy, the diffusion of the 
Holy Scriptures to such a degree, that she has erected a 



SCHLESWIG. 197 

lasting monument to herself in the hearts of all who are 
friends to the divine word, and has brought forth fruit 
which will remain."* 

It is somewhat tantalizing that the Etatsraad Schon- 
bom should have been merely named, without a single 
characteristic trait or graphic epithet. Possibly the aged 
Counsellor of Legation may have been in one of his silent 
moods, and it can easily be understood that one in whom 
there was no small element of scepticism, was not likely 
to be drawn out into the free expression of his sentiments 
or manifestation of his peculiarities before a passing 
stranger, especially when that stranger was characterized 
by a more than ordinarily calm and unshaken faith. 
Schonborn's sympathies were with the visibly energetic 
and enthusiastic ; Mr. Henderson's energy and enthusiasm 
were more real than apparent, more operative than demon- 
strative. There was little ground in common between 
minds so totally diverse. 

The Bible tourist returned to Schleswig, where he 
remained four days. The impression left by him was 
that of an " estimable man, active, intelligent, and unas- 
suming, whom every one who made his acquaintance will 
always recollect with peculiar regard." f His next letter 
is dated, "Eutin, July 20, 1816." 

" I left Schleswig on the 2nd inst., and proceeded the same fore- 
noon to Louisenhmd, J the country residence of H. S. H. Prince 
Charles, from whom I met with the most cordial welcome, and I 
was obliged to drive with him into the woods before dinner. In the 
evening I drove on to Eckernfiorde, and called on the clergyman. . . . 
In Borby, near Eckernfiorde, is a very flourishing Bible Association. 

* Monthly Extracts, No. 9. April, 1818. 

f First Annual Report of the Schleswig -Holstein" Bible Society. 
(Owen's Hist. vol. iii. p. 178.) 
% On the road from Schleswig to Eckernfiorde. 



198 SECOND JOURNEY. 

It is patronized by Count Stolberg of Windeby. With him I was 
constrained to spend four days ; and met at his house the Countess 
Dowager of Reventlow from Fyen ; her son, the present Count ; the 
Countess Dowager Bernstorff, and her two sons, both diplomatic 
characters ; and the amiable poet and historian, Count Friedrich 
Leopold Stolberg, who went over to the Catholic religion some years 
ago. We spent nearly two days in each other's company ; and 
scarcely anything but the interests of vital godliness, as concen- 
trating in the promulgation of the unadulterated gospel of Christ, 
engrossed our attention. Not so much as a single syllable ever 
dropped from his lips from which it could be supposed he was a 
member of the Roman communion. I also dined one day with the 
Countess Reventlow of Altenhof. What proved very agreeable to 
me was, that the nobility whose acquaintance I had the honour of 
forming in these parts could all speak English, and were decidedly 
in favour of evangelical religion." 

It is pleasant to find that the reverse side of the banner 
is not without a satisfactory inscription. Count F. L. Stol- 
berg, referring to the Bible Society, writes thus : " May 
God prosper its work, as He has hitherto manifestly done ! 
At my brother's I met with one of its most active members, 
Mr. Henderson, from Scotland, an admirable man." * The 
cordiality which was thus manifested by the Count was 
not surprising. It is well known that his secession to 
Popery was mainly owing to the frigid Rationalism which 
pervaded the Reformed church, and which was so utterly 
abhorrent alike to his sense of what was right, and to his 
conviction of what was seemly. A German writer states 
that when seeking a tutor for his children, he wrote to 
Jacobi, "I will have no Neologian, though he be as 
learned as Aristotle, and as wise and virtuous as Xeno- 
phon. On this subject I am intolerant. I do not care 
whether he has studied theology or law, whether he is a 
Lutheran or a Calvinist ; but he must be a true believer 

* Memoirs of Frederick Perthes, vol, i, p. 441. 



KIEL. 199 

in the gospel."* The anecdote seems too characteristic to 
be otherwise than genuine. With Count Stolberg, no 
form could compensate for the absence of religion's power ; 
and no difference of form could hinder his communion in 
heart with the sincerely devout. But we must resume 
the Journal : — 

" From Windeby I proceeded on to Kiel, where I spent eight 
days; visited most of the professors, from whom I immediately 
received invitations ; and thus had many choice opportunities 
afforded me of advocating the Bible cause, and recommending it to 
more energetic co-operation. A Bible Association was formed here 
on May 17th. Many of the Professors are members, and I hope by 
greater publicity being given to the matter, they will all join. 
Pray send to the worthy old Oriental scholar, the translator of the 
Zendavesta, Dr. Kleucker, a copy of your Persian New Testament. 
He interests himself in the most cordial manner in your success. 
In passing through Preetz, I visited the clergy, and received a pro- 
mise that an attempt should instantly be made to establish a Society 
in the Kloster of noble ladies, from whom there was every reason to 
expect considerable donations would be obtained. My next station 
was Ploen, the Eden of Holstein. Owing to the Dean's being but 
recently called to the living, he had not been able to do anything ; 

but promised (as did also Count , the Amtmand, whom I 

visited), immediately after the ensuing visitation, to take the neces- 
sary steps toward the formation of a Bible Society for the town and 
Probstey. I had here to face His Serene Highness the Duke, who 
is a Catholic, and (as I was informed) quite enraged at the Bible 
Societies. He was much pleased with what I told him of different 
things, took and showed me his library, and regretted my stay was 
so short. On the 17th, I quitted the Danish dominions, and entered 
those of the Duke of Oldenburgh. On my arrival here in Eutin I waited 
on the Superintendent, Dr. Olshausen ;f the President of the Govern- 
ment, Baron Maltzan ; the two clergymen, and several of the prin- 
cipal people in office. To a man they were friendly to the cause. 

* Translated in the " Spirit of the Pilgrims." Boston, U. S., Feb. 1830 ; 
(and extracted in the Congregational Magazine for July, 1830.) 

f Dr. Detlev John William Olshausen, Consistorial Counsellor and 
Superintendent of the Principality of Lubeck, father of the late well- 
known commentator, and of the present minister for university-education 
in the Prussian Cabinet. 



£00 SECOND JOURNEY. 

The 18th and 19th I spent in Oldenburgh and Lynsaen. To-day I 
have again visited several of the public officers, and to-morrow even- 
ing they are to meet at the house of Dr. Olshausen for the purpose 
of deliberating on the steps necessary to be taken for the formation 
of a Bible Society for the Principality of Liibeck." 

This preliminary meeting, when held, presented a scene 
of unanimity and earnest zeal, which were auspicious 
omens for the future ; and the beginning of the next year 
witnessed the establishment of the " Eutin Bible Society 
for the principality of Liibeck," with His Serene Highness 
Peter, Duke of Oldenburgh, for its patron. Mr. Hender- 
son went on to the town of Liibeck, and then to Ham- 
burgh and Altona, where he enjoyed a brief season of 
comparative repose. 

The sketch of his Danish tour might have been en- 
livened by the introduction of many a pleasant anecdote, 
but which it would have been unwise for him to pen while 
the parties were yet living. In the private circle he often 
dwelt upon such " incidents of travel." He had started 
on this occasion provided with a slip of paper, on which a 
friend had noted down, not merely the names of influen- 
tial parties, but a few of those individual characteristics 
which would indicate the best means of introducing and 
subserving the object of his mission in each separate case. 
Against the name of one Bishop was written, " If you 
would gain him, you must gain his lady." How was this 
to be accomplished? Though no fanatic, and though 
well aware how much depended on the wiseness or unwise- 
ness of the means he might employ, Mr. Henderson was 
convinced that all hearts are influenceable from above, 
and therefore, like the cupbearer of Artaxerxes, he doubt- 
less lifted up his prayer for guidance and success. The 
episcopal residence was gained. The Bishop was alone I 



THE BISHOP'S LADY. 201 

This augured ill, but there was no possibility of retreat ; 
the subject must be broached. " I am sorry," was the 
reply, " that I cannot stop to enter on the matter now ; 
but my good lady is at Copenhagen on a visit." . . . (This 
augured still worse, but the close of the sentence made 
things more hopeful) : " I am just about starting to fetch 
her home; and if I delay, I shall lose the boat: come 
again in a day or two, and let me hear all you have to 
say." The delay was of little moment, when counter- 
balanced by the hope of probable advantage. On paying 
a second visit, he was received by the lady herself, who 
intimated that the Bishop would shortly be at leisure. 
In the mean while, the conversation turned on various 
topics, chiefly connected with the scenery around. Having 
observed near the town an object resembling what we call 
a " Folly," and over the vacant doorway an inscription, 

" To the memory of ," Mr. Henderson enquired whether 

the Danish author of that name was the person intended. 
" Oh ! no," replied the lady, " it was a man whom no one 
would ever have cared to remember after he was gone, 
and being pretty well aware of it himself, he took this 
strange means of handing down his name to posterity. 
But you spoke just now of the author; did you know 
him ?" " Not personally, but I have a high opinion of 
his writings," was the answer ; and the strain of remark 
which ensued sufficed to prove the visitor's full knowledge 
and appreciation of the publications referred to. " That 
is his likeness," said the lady, pointing to a portrait that 
was hanging on the wall ; " he was my first husband." 
It is needless to say that the painting was duly admired, 
that the lady's good graces were won, and the Bishop's 
patronage secured. Not to his own prudence did the 
pleader ascribe his success. All he had done was to speak 



SECOND JOURNEY. 

in unconscious simplicity the thoughts and impressions of 
the passing moment ; and when in after years he narrated 
the story, it was always to illustrate the wondrous manner 
in which time after time the path was smoothed before 
him, and the blind led by a way which he knew not. 
Incidentally we may regard it as no less a proof of the 
benefit secured by human industry and learning. Had 
the author in question been unknown, or his volumes 
unstudied, that day's advantage would have been lost 

At Hamburgh, Mr. Henderson had the pleasure of 
meeting his old friend, the Rev. Francis Dick, one of 
Mr. Haldane's third class, who, after a seven years' 
ministry at Quebec, had been appointed to this post of 
duty at the time of Mr. Aikman's visit in 1815. The 
intercourse of the two brethren was a source of enjoyment 
to both. Mr. Dick's journal fully details his long antici- 
pations of it, and the blank he felt when again separated 
from the welcome visitant. 

The following extracts from that source of information 
will fill up a blank interval at this juncture : — 

" July 26. Had the pleasure to-day of meeting once more with 
my dear brother Henderson, whom I had not seen for eleven years. 
He arrived in Altona last night. I am glad to find him in such 
good health and spirits, with his heart so much engaged in the good 
work of the Lord. 

" 28 (Lord's day). Mr. E. Henderson preached all day. The 
meeting well attended both parts of the day. . . . 

" Aug. 4. Mr. Henderson preached in the forenoon to a very full 
meeting. In the evening we had but a small meeting. 

" 8. Attended a meeting of the Hamburgh and Altona Bible 
Society. . . . 

"11. Mr. Henderson preached for me both parts of the day. The 
meeting was well attended both forenoon and afternoon. Rabbi 

L was in the meeting this evening, and we had some pleasant 

conversation with him after services. I hope the Lord is removing 
the vail from his eyes. 



POMEKANIA. 203 

" 13. Accompanied brother Henderson as far as Ratzeburg. We 

found the country uncommonly pleasant ; the harvest far advanced. 
We left Hamburgh about six in the morning. About two p.m. we 
reached a small town called Miilln ; it is surrounded by water, and 
has been once strongly fortified. Though finely situated, it is a 
wretched-looking place within. We arrived at Ratzeburg about 
four p.m. It stands in the middle of a fine lake. It is a beautiful 
place, contains about 2000 inhabitants, and is the chief city of 
Lauenburg. The whole of this province formerly belonged to Hanover, 

but by the late arrangements it has been ceded to Denmark 

Brother Henderson and I supped with the new Governor, Count 
Reventlau [Reventlow], and found him, and the Countess, and all 
the family very agreeable. The Countess speaks English remark- 
ably well. I had a good deal of talk with her. She appears to be 
a Christian indeed. Her husband is also friendly to religion." * 

At Ratzeburg no steps had been taken or the formation 
of a Bible Society, but the cause was now warmly taken 
up under the auspices of His Excellency the Count, who, 
coming from Schleswig with his sympathies already 
enlisted in the cause, entered into it " heart and soul." 
On the evening of the 18th the infant Society was formally 
instituted at a meeting held for the purpose. 

The tour authorized by the Copenhagen Society was 
now completed, but instructions from London had given 
the labourer a further mission to accomplish. The parti- 
culars are given in the Appendix to the Society's Thirteenth 
Annual Report. The Mecklenburgh-Schwerin Society 
was visited, and was found, though of recent origin, to be 
already in vigorous action. At Eostock, on August 30th, 
foundation was laid for a new Auxiliary; and another 
was formed at Barth, on Sept. 4th, a meeting being con- 
vened in the house of the Hon. Mr. Von Mevius. " In 
the company of this aged nobleman and his daughter, who 
shares the views, the piety, and the zeal of her venerable 

* Scotch Congregational Magazine. New Series, vol. viii. (1848). 



204 



SECOND JOUKNEY. 



parent, I have spent three days in the most edifying 
manner." The attractions of hospitality and of refreshing 
intercourse could not avail to hinder the traveller in his 
course. No sooner was his work at Barth accomplished, 
than he started that very same day towards a new post of 
duty. At Stralsund, investigations were made by him as 
to the progress of the cause. The Committee appointed 
there about eight months before, had augmented the 
number of their subscribers, and were increasingly con- 
vinced that they had embarked on no supererogatory task. 
" In one village where a sick traveller had been taken ill, 
and wished to soothe her mind with the balm of Divine 
consolation so richly contained in the Bible, the strictest 
enquiry was made for a copy ; but, alas ! not one was to 
be found: there was not so much as a single house in 
possession of the words of eternal life." Riigen and 
Griefs wald were placed in communication with the Stral- 
sund Committee. Strelitz, where Mr. Henderson was 
favourably received by members of the Ducal family, 
completed his list of visits in Pomerania and Northern 
Germany. Berlin, where he met his former correspon- 
dent Mr. Jcenicke, and his future fellow-labourer, Dr. 
Pinkerton,* formed the limit of his journey. 

After a two months' absence, he returned to Hamburgh. 
Having from April to October been, as he phrases it, " con- 
stantly on the wing," he naturally felt anxious for a 

* It is hardly necessary to record that the Rev. Robert Pinkerton went 
out in 1805 as a missionary to Karass, but rinding his health fail, had 
been obliged to leave that station ; that he found employment as tutor in 
the family of the Princess Metstchersky ; that he enlisted her aid and 
patronage in the Tract cause ; that he undertook many prolonged and 
extensive tours in behalf of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and 
settled as their agent in Frankfort, where he devotedly served their 
interests through a long course of years, having retired but very recently 
by reason of advancing age. 



HAMBURGH. 205 

season of quiet. But it was otherwise ordained, as will 
be seen from a letter written to Mr. Paterson, on Tues- 
day, Oct. 22 :— 

" My dear Brother, — What a complete change has instanta- 
neously been effected in my plans ! I imagined my Continental 
labours were at a close for this season ; had spent about eight days 
■with my friends here and in Altona ; had bespoke my passage on 
board one of the smacks for Leith ; made every needful preparation 
for my departure — and was fondly dreaming of domestic enjoyments, 
— when all at once I heard a voice behind me, saying, ' This is the 
way, walk ye in it.' I ' turned to the voice that spake unto me,' and 
behold, my path was plain before me. Instead of Edinburgh, I was 
to regard Petersburgh as the place of my destination. On Sabbath 
last, after preaching my first sermon on Lot's wife, I received two 
letters from London, one five, the other only six days old, urging the 
necessity of my repairing without a moment's delay to St. Petersburgh, 
with the view of strengthening your hands in the work of the Lord. 
The intelligence at the same time conveyed a very doleful account oi 
the state of your health; and had I not been in possession of letters 
from you of a later day, I certainly must have despaired of ever seeing 
you more in the land of the living. 

" The matter did not admit of a moment's deliberation. I imme- 
diately fixed on the following Wednesday morning for my departure, 
and have got matters in such a train, that I shall be able to abide by 
my determination. The object of the present is to request you to 
have a passport sent immediately to Memel for me, to be left at the 
Post Office till my arrival " 

To the Committee in London he wrote : " The question 
put by the Apostle came home with power to my mind, 
' Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not 
thyself?'" And again : "Had I not come to the determi- 
nation instantly to comply with your request, how could I 
have borne the cutting reflection, f Demas hath forsaken me., 
having loved this present world V " Precious indications 
are these, that the holy volume which he was commending 
to the notice of others, was personally resorted to as the 
man of his counsel, and was heeded as the guide of his 
own path. 



206 SECOND JOURNEY. 

Speedy and unexpected as was his return to Rostock, he 
was rejoiced to find that his recent efforts in that place 
were already yielding fruit, and that the projected auxiliary 
was on the point of formation. At -Dantzig and Konigs- 
berg, which lay on his route, he had only to enquire into 
the result of what others had done. He found that Bible 
Societies were not only existing but flourishing ; yet so 
great a thirst had been awakened among the people, that 
the supply was by no means equal to the demand ; and on 
the arrival of Bibles at the Depository, " the copies," to 
use the language of one of the Dantzigers, " went off like 
the morning rolls from the baker's." 

Notwithstanding the visits paid to various individuals in 
these towns, so much expedition was used that the traveller 
reached Memel a full week before his passport arrived. It 
was a week of exciting suspense. " Every day," he says, 
" seemed an age." Fond hopes were revived. This silence 
might import a change of plan ; his help in Russia might 
not be needed ; he might yet be set at liberty to carry out 
his plan of wintering in Britain, and publishing his book 
of Icelandic travels. The summons to duty, however, was 
not thus recalled. Again, therefore, and as before, he braced 
his mind to obey : — 

" I instantly quelled the rising thought with my last Hamburgh 
text, ' Remember Lot's wife,' as I have from the first viewed the 
important change in my prospects and plans, as standing in near 
connection with some great development of the will of my heavenly 
Father respecting me. My duty now is to pray the Lord to discover 
His will to me ; and strictly to watch and observe the openings of 
His providence. 'I will make my supplication,' says David, 'and' 
— not ' look up,' as in our version, — but ' look out ;' or as we say 
in common life, ' be on the outlook.' ". . . . 

At Mittau there was a new delay. The floating-bridge 
had been carried away by the ice, and the induration was 



ST. PETERSBURG H. 207 

not yet sucli that a sledge could safely cross. The interval 
was well employed in calling on the friends of the Bible 
cause, cheering their hearts, attending one of their business- 
conferences, and advising them on several important mat- 
ters that came under consideration. As soon as the state 
of the Dwina allowed of his farther progress, he crossed over 
to Riga, and hastened to the Russian capital, which he 
reached in the middle of December, and where his labours, 
after he had been duly initiated by Mr. Paterson, date from 
about the commencement of the New Year. 

Though now removed from Denmark, he had gratifying 
proofs that his friends there retained a lively remembrance of 
his services. " I am very glad to hear," wrote the Landgrave 
in February, " that you return to Great Britain, before you 
will go to Tartary. I wish you would take your road through 
Schleswig; I would be happy, dear Sir, to reiterate you in 
person the assurances of my high esteem and sincere friend- 
ship." From Copenhagen arrived a document sealed with 
the triangle and the seven-stringed lyre of the Scandinavian 
Literary Society, nominating him one of its corresponding 
members in consideration of the esteem in which he was 
held for his " solid learning " and his " active zeal,"* — 
a zeal for whatsoever was true and pure, lovely and of 
good report. In the month of June, a diploma was for- 
warded from Kiel, conferring on him the title of Doctor in 
Philosophy, and describing him as " Scotvm, ecclesiasten 
ohm Anglorvm Hafnise, clarissimse Societati Biblicse Lon- 
dinensi adhvc per terras septemtrionales legatvm optime 
merentem, Islandise imprimis scrvtatorem, doctvm soller- 

* The vote was passed at the meeting of August 15, 1816, when four 
others were chosen to receive a testimonial of membership. Three of these 
were resident in Germany, and the fourth was Dr. Jamieson. (See Dansk 
Litteratur-Tidende for 1816, p. 530.) 



208 SECOND JOURNEY. 

tern, virvm vt litteris, sic ingenii animiqve dotibvs mvltis 
conspicvvm et amabilem." It was transmitted together 
with a German letter from Professor Augustus Christian 
Henry Niemann* (D.Ph., Knight of the Danebrog, etc.), 
which was replete with most laudatory terms. 

During Mr. Paterson's absence, his duties were carried 
on by Dr. Henderson with Mr. (afterwards Dr.) Pinkerton's 
assistance for the general business, Mr. Putt's aid in the 
printing department, and the active co-operation of the 
Committee. The task was multiform. It consisted in 
seeing to the correction of proofs as they left the press, 
and in superintending the town-issue of those Scriptures, 
or portions of Scripture, that were already in stock; in 
transmitting copies, when needful, to the associations 
already formed in various parts of the Empire, and in cor- 
responding with the Astrachan and other Missionaries 
about the translations or re-editions that were yet needed. 
French, Greek, Moldavian, Georgian, Calmuc, and other 
Bibles were in progress. Archimandrites and Princes had 
to be consulted ; translators had to be conferred with ; 
paper, types, and binding had to be cared for; the depot to 
be looked after ; and committee-meetings, of several hours 
in duration, to be attended. "Not a mail leaves St. 
Petersburgh" — so he wrote to Earl Street — "without 
carrying along with it some copies of the word of God ; 
and few return without letters of thanks, fresh orders, or 
the pleasing information of the establishment of new Socie- 
ties." But it was pleasant to be thus actively employed ; 
pleasant, also, to see the work prosper. His letters to Mr. 

* Author of an Encyclopaedia of Forest-science (Inbegrif der Forst- 
wissenschaft), and well-known for many other valuable productions of his 
pen, especially in that department, one which the Germans were the 
earliest to investigate and treat in a scientific manner. 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 209 

Paterson contain full particulars of the whole, but are too 
minute and local to be of general interest. " I am happy 
to state/' he writes on one occasion, " that everything here 
relative to the Bible Society is going on as well as can be 
expected in your absence. But, indeed, how should it be 
otherwise, as you wound up the watch before your de- 
parture?" He had entered on a field that was ripe to the 
harvest, but he never forgot that it was a field on which 
another than himself had bestowed the preparatory labour. 
His difficulties were few. The Imperial patronage 
sufficed to make everything smooth. 

St. Petersburg, March 14, O. S., 1817. 
. ..." Here in Russia we have no opposition, but what comes 
from some Jesuits, and a certain class of men who may be denomi- 
nated the dregs of the illuminati ; and these dare not speak above 
their breath, knowing that the cause lies so near the heart of the 
Emperor, who is every day making himself more and more beloved 
by his subjects."*. . . . 

The following letter, of an earlier date, and written to a 
friend at Elgin, appeared in the "Christian Herald" for 
1817:— 

St. Peter shurgh, Jan. 4, O. S., 1817. 

. ..." It is a glorious day in which we live. Not only the period 
of monkish superstition, but the days of cold apathy and spiritual 
idleness have passed away, and given place to a season of labour, 
of battle, and of victory. But a few years ago the number of those 
Christians was but small, who extended their ideas of usefulness 
beyond the narrow limits of their own little insulated circle : now a 
poor day-labourer in the north of Scotland puts the charter of endless 
felicity into the hands of a Chinese, a Laplander, or an Esquimaux ! 
High and low. rich and poor, old and young, have all entered the 
lists, and engaged in this noble combat of love. This is a scene 
which no Christian can contemplate without participating the feel- 
ings of the good Hezekiah, 2 Chron. xxix. 36. . . . 

" It cannot but afford you much unfeigned joy to learn that the 

* Christian Herald, vol. iv. (1817), p. 200. 
P 



210 SECOND JOURNEY. 

cause of the Bible Society goes on, and prospers exceedingly. .... 
Since the commencement of Bible Societies on the Continent of 
Europe, there was no country where they were more needed, or where 
they have been begun with greater success than in Russia. I am 
happy in being able to inform you, that, instead of any tendency 
towards a lukewarmness or falling off discovering itself, the affairs 
and zeal of the Society here are increasing from day to day. They 
have indeed a world before them, and they are determined to occupy 
it. Millions, and tens of millions, are thirsting for the waters of life, 
and the Lord hath opened a fountain out of which they shall be able 
ere long to draw, and drink, and live for ever. It would truly do 
your heart good to witness the zeal and activity which are displayed 
by the Committee in this place. They are like men deeply sensible 
that ' a dispensation hath been committed unto them.' About twenty 
Auxiliaries have been formed in different parts of the interior, some 
of which will constitute glorious advanced posts against Mahomedan 
and Pagan superstition. 

"The printing of the Scriptures is going on here in a number of 
different languages, of which you are no doubt apprised: but we are 
by no means able to satisfy the urgent demands that are daily pour- 
ing in upon us for copies, especially the Slavonian. The contributions 
also continue to flow in, which, together with the liberal grants from 
London, enable us to do great things : but with our utmost endea- 
vours we cannot keep pace with the wants of the people, and the 
consequent wishes of the benevolent Alexander. You know what 
this munificent monarch has already done for the Society. And after 
the gift of a house* with 15,000 rubles to Jit it up, he in addition 
gave the Society 15,000 rubles for paper ; and a few days ago, he 
expressed his regret to our worthy president that the exertions of 
the Bible Society should bear no greater proportion to the spiritual 
necessities of the Empire. ' What is the cause ?' said he ; 'do you 
stand in need of money ? only let me know, and you shall find me at 
your service' We shall have a Committee-meeting next week, to 
deliberate upon the measures to be taken in order to comply with 
the benevolent wishes of his Majesty, although it will not be 
easy to say how they can do much more than they are at present 
doing."t 

In the Bible House at St. Petersburgh, mentioned in the 
above letter, Dr. Henderson had taken up his abode. It 

* In the previous year (1816). 

f Christian Herald, vol. iv. (1817), pp. 155, 156. 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 211 

was situated near the Kazan Church, on the eastern side of 
the St. Catherine's Canal.* The alterations which the 
Building Committee had undertaken, were far from com- 
plete, and throughout the spring they were in progress. 
Some of the hours assignable to study were free, however, 
from the interrupting noise of plane and hammer. Leave 
of access was obtained to the " Public Imperial Library," 
and there he set himself to the diligent study of a new 
language. A dozen pages, on which, within neatly-ruled 
lines, are written the characters and combinations of the 
Mandshur Alphabet, still remain. There is a firmness of 
touch, there is a precision of form, hardly surpassable by 
type itself, and calculated to render the fragment not unin- 
teresting as a specimen of calligraphy. But there is a 
deeper value attaching to its history. Linguist as he was, 
there was always a directive aim which guided the selection 
of his studies. The circumstances, that determined his 
choice on this occasion, stand connected with one of the 
hardest — apparently the very hardest — of all his mental 
conflicts. It was only a few days after Mr. Paterson's de- 
parture, that his correspondent had to write — " I have had 
an irresistible call to join the mission at Irkutsk. It has 
been made through the medium of our good friend, Mr. 
Robert Steven, and you know the power of his eloquence." 
The state of the case lay thus. One labourer was ready 
to go forth to Siberia ; another was needed. It was well 
understood in London that Dr. Henderson's location in St. 
Petersburgh was regarded as a merely temporary arrange- 
ment. His competency for the mission was fully known ; 
so also was his zeal for the conversion of the heathen. The 

* See his account of it in the Bible Society's Thirteenth Annual 
Report, p. 299, cited in " the Book for every Land," p. 257. The value 
of the house and grounds was estimated at 100,000 roubles. Ibid. p. 255. 



212 SECOND JOURNEY. 

letter, forwarded from England, was therefore worded with 
great urgency. No importunity was needed. The Siberian 
mission had already been in his thoughts. The call from 
without corresponded to the call within. But was it a 
voice from heaven that directed the way? This matter 
was seriously pondered. The communings of his heart may 
here be given. They are the only accessible record of the 
kind, and they are valuable as evidencing that he combined 
devotion with devotedness : — 

" St. Petersburgh, Jan. 28, 0. S., 1811. Having received a very 
unexpected and urgent call to join the mission which has been pro- 
jected by the London Missionary Society to the town of Irkutsk in 
Siberia, for the purpose of translating the Holy Scriptures into the lan- 
guages of Mandshuria and Mongolia, and preaching to the benighted 
and perishing inhabitants of those neglected regions the unsearchable 
riches of Christ, I set apart this day for taking the subject into the 
closest consideration, examining myself as to my views and qualifi- 
cations, and beseeching my heavenly Father to lead me by His infinite 
wisdom to such a determination as should most effectually tend to 
promote His glory and the best interests of my fellow-men. 

" Enjoyed more liberty in drawing near to God than I recollect 
having done for many years ; and my soul was melted within me at 
the retrospect of the imperfections, shortcomings, and guilt, with 
which my past services have been chargeable. That I had not acted 
up to the privileges with which I was favoured from my earliest 
youth ; that I had been so unsteady in my walk with God ; that I 
had so often and so awfully backslidden from His ways ; that I had 
not sought and endeavoured to procure the destruction of sin in my 
members as I ought to have done ; that I had done so little for my 
Redeemer in the world ; and that the little I had by His grace been 
enabled to do, had been done in so slovenly and heartless a manner; 
that I was not more heavenly-minded, and so very defective in my 
love to God :■ — these furnished me with abundant cause of humilia- 
tion before God, and laid me low in the dust at His footstool. Yet, 
blessed be His gracious name, I was not left to bemoan my condition 
as if there had been no hope. I was enabled to plead the power 
and the promises of the Saviour, the merits of His blood, and the 
efficacy of His intercession within the vail. — Read Exod. iii. ; Josh, i.; 
and Isaiah vi., as bearing more directly upon the case before me, 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 213 

and drew from them the following conclusions : — that the Lord is 
sovereign, and free in His choice of the instruments by whom He 
intends to carry on His purposes in the world ; that it is right to 
satisfy ourselves that our call to engage in any work really be from 
God ; that when this is clearly made out, all reasoning in the 
matter is sinful, proceeds from unbelief, and is displeasing to God ; 
that the Lord can carry on His work by our means notwithstanding 
our un worthiness ; that fresh calls to engage in His service ought to 
prompt to fresh applications for sanctification, and fill us with fresh 
amazement that the High and Holy One should condescend to make 
use of such as are of unclean lips to sound forth the fame of that 
Redeemer whose glories dazzle the eyes of the highest seraphim above ; 
that we ought to make the Holy Scriptures the men of our counsel 
and the subject of frequent meditation ; and, finally, that when the 
Lord is pleased to call us to any work, we may boldly face every 
enemy, and undismayed encounter every danger, for He is with us, 
and will never leave us nor forsake us. — Was much edified by read- 
ing the invaluable work of Melville Home on Missions. I scarcely 
think there is any human production extant to be compared with it 
for reproving sloth and indolence, exciting zeal and compassion in 
behalf of the poor dyiug heathen, and leading to a judicious trial of 
the men and means to be employed in diffusing among them the 
light of life. 

" Jan. 29. Endeavoured to impress my mind with a sense of the 
infinite turpitude of sin ; — the aggregate of that monstrous evil, as 
attaching to the millions to whom the intended mission is to have 
respect ; — how hateful this must render them in the sight of a 
holy and righteous God ; — what miseries it involves them in ; — the 
impossibility of their condition being ameliorated by any other 
means but the gospel of Jesus Christ ; the felicity that would accrue 
to them on their receiving it in the love thereof; — and the glory 
that would redound to the triune Jehovah from their conversion. 

" Weighed, on the one hand, the difficulties connected with the 
undertaking, the privations to which it would necessarily subject me, 
and the trials and sufferings which might befall me ; and, on the 
other, the facilities, encouragements, and consolations, which might 
reasonably be expected to cheer, and animate, and support the mind. 
Carnal reason suggested many doubts, and endeavoured to throw 
obstacles in the way : but I was made sensible of the sinfulness of 
consulting with flesh and blood ; and ' constrained by the love of 
Christ,' I resolved to devote myself to the work in humble reliance 
on the aids of His omnipotent grace. Oh ! what an honour to be 
employed merely as a pioneer to ' cast up,' and * root out,' and 



214 SECOND JOURNEY. 

prepare in the desert an highway for our God ! And how is the 
honour heightened, when we take into consideration the insignifi- 
cancy and unworthiness of the instruments ! Oh ! the boundless 
extent of Divine grace !" 

One of the obstacles to which he alluded, was the aban- 
doning of his intended visit home ; but, in this respect, he 
was enabled to say, " My patria, my TroXl^evfia, is in the 
heavens." On the 31st, he wrote his answer to Mr. Steven. 
It is too long for insertion in full, but the following para- 
graph is important. After having expressed his long- 
cherished love for the Missionary cause, and his conviction 
of the importance attaching to the Irkutsk station, he gives 
a detailed account of the self-testings to which this call 
from the frontier of China had given rise. He owns his 
inadequacy for the work, but states that he cannot feel it 
right to withhold his consent, since " in Jah Jehovah is 
everlasting strength," and " whatever is lacking in any 
whom He is pleased to call, it is a light matter for Him to 
supply." The writer then proceeds : — 

" Viewing your letter, my dear Sir, more in the light of a private 
than an official communication, I have thus disclosed to you the 
sentiments and feelings of my heart ; and, on the footing of the state- 
ment here given, you may consider yourself fully authorized to make 
offer of my services to the Directors of the London Missionary Society. 
In making this offer, however, I am so far from conceiving myself to 
be relinquishing the service of the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
that my principal, I had almost said my exclusive object in going to 
Irkutsk (should it be the will of the Lord to conduct me thither), 
would be to promote the grand end of its institution in a degree and 
to an extent which I could not possibly have done in any other 
situation. It is true I shall cease to act as their accredited agent 
the moment I form an engagement with the London Missionary 
Society, but my obligations to advance their interests to the utmost 
of my power I shall ever consider to be indissoluble, and in so far 
as I am enabled to co-operate with them in diffusing the light of 
Revelation, I flatter myself with the hope of their continued appro- 
bation and support." 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 215 

On February 18th, he makes the following entry : — 

" Though my time has for some weeks past been entirely occu- 
pied with the affairs of the Bible Society, not a single day has passed 
in which the subject of the mission has not engaged my attention. 
On certain occasions, the evil one suggests the impossibility of 
labouring in that field to any advantage ; that the difficulties are 
absolutely insurmountable, and that the whole undertaking will issue 
in disappointment and disgrace. But we know his wiles, and, by 
the teaching of our God, are not ignorant of his devices. In that 
quarter of the globe he has maintained an undisturbed dominion 
from time immemorial, and cannot without chagrin observe the 
measures which are planning for his expulsion by introducing the 
light of life into those regions of darkness, and of the shadow of 
death. He will therefore use every means in his power to hinder 
the work, and this he knows he cannot do more effectually than by 
intimidating the missionaries, or so working upon their minds as to 
produce a disrelish for the service. The losses he has sustained 
convince him that all his infernal power and craft are but as the 
green withes to Samson, when met by true missionary zeal, and 
a determination, in reliance on the Almighty power of Jesus, to leave 
no effort untried that can contribute to extend the triumphs of the 
Cross, and effect the everlasting rescue of ruined men. Thank God 
for the many precious promises and prophecies respecting the uni- 
versal spread of the gospel, which are contained in His holy word, 
so that after the example of our Saviour we are enabled to repel all 
the suggestions of the tempter with the one ' Thus saith the Lord' 
after the other, till he is completely foiled." 

A month later, while the affair was still pending, he 
began to make ready for the probable future ; and although 
the study of the Russ claimed his prime attention, he found 
leisure for the elements of the Mandshur and the Mongolian, 
making an inter-comparison of the alphabets, the Lord's 
Prayer, and portions of the book of Genesis, in those 
sister-tongues. In April he wrote to Mr. Paterson, who 
had tried to dissuade him from the plan : — 

" The man that sets his heart on Missionary work, must not be 
like a reed, shaken by every wind that blows ; and you must not be 
surprised when I tell you that my heart is as much set on the trans- 



£16 SECOND JOURNEY. 

lation of the Scriptures into the Mandshur and Mongolian languages 
as ever ; and I may say, my desire is increasing daily, the more my 
study of these languages is prosecuted." 

A few days only elapsed before he received letters, 
which must have made him exclaim with the patriarch, 
(i He hath broken off the purposes of my heart." The 
Bible Society Committee had so strenuously determined 
on using every effort to retain him in their employ, 
that Mr. Steven had very prudently withheld the offer he 
had been commissioned to make, and the Missionary 
Society had to look elsewhere for a companion to join Mr. 
Stallybrass. The unanimous and strongly- worded resolu- 
tion of the Committee in Earl Street had its effect in con- 
vincing Dr. Henderson that he should not be doing right, 
were he to persist in his design. To Dr. Steinkopff, there- 
fore, as the Foreign Secretary, he communicated his thanks 
for the kind expressions in which reference had been made 
to his past services ; assured the Society of his unabated 
attachment to the great object of their Institution ; declared 
his willingness to spend and be spent in their cause ; ex- 
plained that his only intention and wish in this concern 
had been the furtherance of their grand object; and stated 
that had it been one of their plans to send out translators, 
he should have preferred, from what he knew of the man- 
ner in which their affairs were carried on, to go under their 
auspices than those of any other Society. 

It is generally with greater ease that men can nerve 
their minds to do than to forbear. So it was in the present 
case. There had been a momentary struggle before the 
utterance "I will go." There was a more prolonged one 
before the " I will stay " could be uttered in an unwavering 
tone. At one moment, he was disposed to regard this as a 
Satanic hindering. At another, looking to second causes, 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 217 

he was disposed to accuse his " David" of having used un- 
fair means to retain " Jonathan " at his side. His allusions 
to the disappointment are hrief but frequent. " Oh ! that 
I could but forget what my heart was so decidedly set upon ; 
but you know , from your own experience, how difficult it 
is not to think of an object one loves. It is my daily 
prayer that the Lord would give me a more implicit de- 
pendence upon Himself, and a disposition at all times to 
say, ( Speak, Lord, for thy servant heareth.' " Again : 
" To Mr. and Mrs. Stallybrass, you may depend upon it 
every possible attention will be paid. I should ill redeem 
the pledge I gave Mr. Steven, were I not to exert myself 
to the utmost to render their stay here comfortable. Only 
I beg you will lose no time in returning, or there is no 
saying what my intercourse with these devoted friends may 
effect. How anxiously I shall expect them. They will 
know how to sympathize with me." On their arrival, the 
wound was re-opened, and again he was conscious of 
" melancholy disappointment and the smarting pangs of 
mortified desire." In a letter of June 1st, he says, " The 
more I have seen my intended companions, my regret in- 
creases that I am not permitted to proceed with them to 
the place of their destination. With such heavenly friends, 
I could spend my days at the utmost verge of the habitable 
globe ;" — but he presently checks himself, and adds, " I 
must hasten from a subject that overpowers my feelings, 
and would betray me into a spirit little consonant with that 
of the Gospel, which teaches us to submit without repining 
to the sovereign and all-wise appointments of God. Our 
friends will stay with, me till, the beginning of next week, 
when their lodgings will be ready for them, the third door 

from the ci-devant house of the Jesuits Hasten to 

join us, and if the Lord spare us, I hope we shall have a 



218 SECOND JOURNEY. 

delightful season together. We have no interest but one — 
that of our common Redeemer ; and we are all determined 
to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified.' 5 

In his work, and in the congenial society of Christian 
friends, he regained his wonted equanimity. Sixteen 
waggon-loads of Bibles and Testaments sent off under his 
direction to diiferent parts of the Empire, must have made 
the depot a busy and a bustling scene. The following 
letter, forwarded by him to the British and Foreign Bible 
Society, and inserted in their extracts, presents to view 
the magnitude of the labours which Mr. Paterson had so 
successfully set on foot, and which his friends were now 
diligently prosecuting : — 

St. Petersburgh, June 8, 1817. 

" Yesterday was celebrated the fourth Anniversary of the Russian 
Bible Society. Notwithstanding the unfavourable state of the 
weather, and the inconvenient situation of the Tauridian Palace (in 
one of the magnificent Halls of which the Meeting was held), it was 
computed to have been nearly three times more numerously attended 
than it was last year. The Hall and adjoining room were quite 
crowded, and presented to the view of the Christian philanthropist 
a scene of the most interesting and animating nature. Many of the 
most distinguished personages both in Church and State honoured 
the meeting with their presence. I was peculiarly struck with the 
sight of a group of graduated Monks and Professors from the Newsky 
Monastery, and of a number of military officers, high in rank, who 
appeared in another direction. Representatives of most of the nations 
for whom we are preparing editions of the Sacred Scriptures, such 
as Russians, Armenians, Georgians, Greeks, Moldavians, Finns, 
Poles, Esthonians, Livonians, German, and French, were assembled 
to take part in the ceremony, and listen to the interesting details of 
the publication of the word of God in their respective languages. 
Among others I observed two learned Russians, who have spent 
fifteen years at the Academy in Pekin, and are masters of the Chi* 
nese and Mandshur languages. The scene naturally led my mind to 
that beautiful passage in the prophet Isaiah, ' Lift up thine eyes 
round about, and behold : all these gather themselves together, and 
come to thee. Behold, these come from far ; and, lo, these from the 
North and the West ; and these from the land of Sinim !' May we 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 219 

not confidently cherish the hope, that, by the blessing of God on the 
progressive efforts of Bible and Missionary Societies, Zion will, ere 
long, see this prophecy fully accomplished ? Already have we be- 
held a little one become a thousand, and a small one a strong 
nation : yea, and we may add, ' The Lord hath hastened it in His 
time.' 

" At half-past eleven o'clock, our Noble President took the chair, 
supported on the right by the Archbishops Michael and Seraphim, 
and the Minister of the Interior ; and, on the left by the Roman 
Catholic Metropolitan Sestrensevich Bogush. The Prince opened the 
business of the day in a truly excellent and appropriate speech, of 
considerable length ; after which, His Excellency Mr. Papoff came 
forward, and read the Report, which was listened to with the most 
profound silence by the numerous Assembly. I know that you have 
perused the former Reports of the Russian Bible Society with the 
deepest interest ; and I have had an opportunity of remarking with 
what eagerness they have been read in different countries of Europe ; 
but I will venture to predict that when this document is published, 
all will allow that it far surpasses any of the preceding in the rich- 
ness of its matter, the magnitude and importance of the subjects 
which it developes, and the genuine spirit of Christianity which it 
breathes throughout. It concludes with a solemn prayer, which 
made a powerful impression on the auditory, and called forth over- 
flowing ejaculations to the Author ef every good and perfect gift for 
the continuance of His blessing on the Institution 

" You will recollect the very important Resolution passed at the 
Second Meeting of the Committee of the Russian Bible Society, pur- 
porting that they should not consider themselves to have attained 
the object of their Institution, till they had provided with a Bible 
every family, and, if possible, every individual in the Russian 
Empire. With what ardour they are pushing forward to the attain- 
ment of this object, and accelerating the complete redemption of their 
pledge, will be seen, when it is stated, that, from the establishment 
of the Society to the present time, its Committee have either published, 
or engaged in publishing, no fewer than forty-three Editions of the 
Sacred Scriptures, in seventeen different languages, forming a grand 
total of 196,000 copies. In the course of 1816, the Committee have 
completed — 

Slavonian Bibles 10,000 

Slavonian New Testaments . . . . .10,000 
Finnish Bibles . . . . . . .5,000 

French Bibles 5,000 

Samogitian New Testaments 5,000 



220 



SECOND JOURNEY. 



The printing of the following' Editions is either continued, or has 
been begun in 1817 : — 



Slavonian Bibles ...... 


. 20,000 


Slavonian New Testaments . 


. 5,000 


Armenian Bibles . . . . 


. 5,000 


Armenian New Testaments 


. 3,000 


Greek Bibles .... . . 


. 3,000 


Greek New Testaments .... 


. 5,000 


Georgian New Testaments . . 


. 2,000 


Moldavian Bibles 


. 5,000 


Moldavian New Testaments 


. 5,000 


German Catholic Testaments . 


. 5,000 


Lettonian New Testaments 


. 5,000 


Dorpatian Esthonian Testaments 


. 5,000 


Tartar New Testaments .... 


. 2,000 


Tartar Gospels of St. Luke (extra copies) 




Tartar Psalms ..... 


. 2,000 


Calmuc Gospel .... 


. 2,000 



The number of Bibles and Testaments, issued in the course of the 
year, amounts to 19,431 copies, which is only about 500 copies fewer 
than were issued the three former years put together. The Ex- 
penditures are nearly in the same proportion. During the three 
years 1813, 1814, and 1815, the Expenditure amounted to 297,642 
rubles, 47 copecs ; in 1816 alone, 227,770 rubles, 73 copecs. 

Besides the above, preparations are making for Stereotype Editions 
of the Scriptures, in five different languages : they are in a course 
of translation into the Common Russian, Tartar, and Carelian 
languages ; and measures are adopting for procuring Translations 
into Turkish-Armenian and Buriat-Mongolian"* 

The interests of the English and of the Americans were 
not forgotten. A room had already been opened for Sab- 
bath-evening service by Mr. Paterson ; and Dr. Henderson 
had entered with no less delight on that branch of effort. 
As soon as he had friends to aid him, he sought to give it 
greater publicity ; and having, through Prince Galitzin,f 
obtained the Emperor's permission to institute regular 

* Monthly Extracts of the British and Foreign Bible Society's Corre- 
spondence, No. 1, August 22, 1817. 
f At that time " Ministre des Cultes." 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 221 

preaching, he gained from the Rev. Mr. Mortimer, Mora- 
vian pastor,* the use of the Brethren's meeting-house, the 
Sarepta Chapel by name. At first, the sermons were here 
undertaken mainly by the Rev. W. Glen, who, after ten 
years of useful labour as minister of an Associate Burgher 
Congregation at Annan, had felt his heart stirred up by 
the reports of the Edinburgh Missionary Society to go 
forth as their agent, and was accordingly on his way to join 
their delegates at Astrachan, where his services were to be 
found invaluable in the translating of the Persian Scrip- 
tures. After Mr. Glen's departure from St. Petersburgh, 
Mr. Stallybrass, who was still engaged in his preparatory 
study of the Russian and Mongolian languages, supplied 
the pulpit. " I had the pleasure," said Dr. Henderson on 
a London platform in the ensuing year, " of hearing Mr. 
Stallybrass in St. Petersburgh bear testimony to the glory 
and excellence of Jesus ; and never shall I forget the im- 
pression that appeared to be made on the audience there, 
when in the true spirit of a Missionary, he took for his first 
text those words of the Apostle, ( I am not ashamed of the 
gospel of Christ.' " The church, like that at Gottenburgh, 
when first formed, numbered only seven members; but 
there were some two hundred persons in attendance, and 
the associated band of professed disciples gradually in- 
creased. 

The return of Dr. Paterson in August left his colleague 
at liberty to commence his long-planned journey home. 
But dear as were the attractions of his native land, he chose 
the route which he could make most subservient to the 
great object that occupied his unremitting attention. A 
letter of Sept. 15th, mentions that Stockholm, Westeras, 

* Afterwards settled at Neuwied. 



SECOND JOURNEY. 

and Carlstad had been visited, and the office-bearers of their 
several Societies or Auxiliaries encouraged in their labours. 
" To-morrow/' he writes, " I start for Norway." Of his 
correspondence with Dr. Paterson on this journey, not a 
fragment remains, to throw light upon the above sentence. 
A line, found in Dr. Paterson's handwriting, mentions 
" Christiania" as one of the places whence a letter was 
received. It is probable, therefore, that he paid a hurried 
visit to the Norwegian capital, merely to gain exact infor- 
mation as to the state of matters in a country where he had 
long desired, and where he still hoped, to put his hand to 
the good work. October the 16th found him at a Com- 
mittee Meeting in Copenhagen ; and by the 1st of December 
he was once more among his London friends. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Third Journey. (1818 — 1825.) 



" Guds Ord vor Lede-Stjerne er, 
Som Lys i Natten giver, 
Et Skjold, som os betrygger her, 
En Dugg, som os opliver, 
En Laegedom for Alle, som 
I Sjaslenod befindes, 
Et kraftigt Baand, 
Hvormed vor Haand 
Fast til vor Frelser bindes." * — Wexel. 



The earliest news that reached the traveller on his return 
was the tidings of his mother's death. He had fondly 
hoped that he might yet be in time to see her in the land 
of the living; but, before his arrival, she had breathed 
her last. In July, 1817, she had taken a severe cold, 
when attending the Old Abbey Church on occasion of the 
"placing" of a minister; and from that time she had 
gradually sunk, till, early in November, she had been 
removed from earth at the age of seventy-seven. Having 
no immediate call, under these circumstances, to hasten 
into Scotland, Dr. Henderson postponed his visit to the 
north, and proceeded to wait on the Bible Society Secre- 
taries, laying before them his report, and receiving their 
proposal as to his future movements. A passing thought 



* The word of God, a guide-star bright, Illuminates our night ; A 
shield it is, our way to ensure ; A dew, our strength to feed ; A remedy, 
which offers cure For every soul in need ; A powerful band, To join our 
hand, To Him that hath redeemed us. 



224 THIRD JOURNEY. 

was entertained of commissioning him to undertake Italy 
as his next sphere of labour ; but letters from Astrachan, 
pointing out the extreme eligibility of that post as a centre 
of action, turned the scale in favour of Russia and its 
adjacent territories. Thither he was desired to hold him- 
self ready to go in the spring or summer. Meanwhile 
there was work for him to do at home, in traversing the 
country, and publishing those good news, from far-off 
lands, which would quicken the pulse of Christian zeal. 

The first week of the New Year found him at Bath, 
but it was on business of his own. He was not minded 
again to go abroad without a partner to share his pros- 
perities, and to sympathize with him in his perplexities. 
The lady whose acquaintance he was desirous to form, and 
who eventually became his companion for life, was an 
intimate friend of the second Mrs. Paterson. It was thus 
he first heard her praises, and thus that he obtained an 
introduction. Her father, Mr. John Kennion, was de- 
scended from Roger Kenyon, Esq., of Peel Hall;* and 
her mother, also of a Lancashire family, was a Birch. Of 
their fifteen children, this was the second daughter then 
surviving. At the time here referred to, she Was on a 
visit to her early and beloved friend, Mrs. Young, the 
widow of the Rev. Robert Young, D.D., of the Scotch 
Church, London Wall. From her pen the following letter 
has been kindly furnished. 

* The orthography of the name is understood to have been altered by 
a cousin of the first Lord Kenyon. Being descended from the same 
family, both branches have the right to bear " sable, a chevron engrailed 
or, between three crosses flory argent" quartered with the Rigby arms, 
and for their crest "a lion couchant holding a cross flory." To the 
family-motto, Magnanimity crucem sustine, Dr. Henderson alluded in one 
of his early letters, recommending that it be viewed in connection with 
the old French legend, La croix me Men mayntiendra, " The one," he says, 
" is your duty and your desire ; the other, your confidence and assurance." 



BATH. 225 

Cambridge, August 16, 1858. 

" My dear Friend, — I am glad to hear that T- is preparing 

materials for writing a history of her father. . . . You ask for her 
something of my impression of him forty years ago. I first saw 
Dr. Henderson at the beginning of the year 1818 at Bath. He 
came, attracted by the reports which had reached him of the talents 
and amiable disposition of a young friend of mine, then on a visit to 
me, Miss Susannah Kennion. We had been neighbours and friends 
from girlhood. Her father, when I first became acquainted with 
the family, was in very comfortable circumstances ; but business 
went wrong in after years, commercial transactions did not prosper, 
and the family judged it prudent to retire to the West of England 
to retrench. Subsequently the daughters thought it expedient to 
make use of the superior education they had received, for their own 
benefit. Miss S. Kennion had an intimate friend, Miss Greig, who 
married the Kev. Dr. Paterson. The evenings of autumn had been 
enlivened in St. Petersburgh by the perusal of letters from distant 
friends. Among these, Miss Kennion's were peculiarly agreeable 
from the purity of their diction, and the piety of the sentiments, 
enlivened by a cheerful vein of pleasantry which bespoke an amiable 
disposition and a happy temper. Dr. Henderson's calm imagination 
began to kindle with a desire to see the writer of these charming 
letters, and as soon as his occupations led him to England, he 
resolved on the patriarchal step of seeking a wife from a distance. 
Like Jacob, he took a journey to see the maiden he had heard of, 
and came down to Bath, where she was staying. His judgment 
was satisfied, and his heart soon followed its dictates. With that 
manly straightforwardness which was an essential part of his 
character, he resolved to speak out, and leave no doubt as to his 
feelings. He left Bath for a couple of days, went* to visit Barley 
Wood, the residence of the venerable Hannah More ; and surrounded 
by those beautiful woods, sought patiently to await the answer to 
the most important letter of his life. . . . They soon understood each 
other perfectly, and all was speedily arranged for the marriage, 
which was one of the happiest. 

" 1 think what I chiefly remarked in Dr. Henderson's character 
at this time was guileless simplicity and right-mindedness. One felt 
disposed in conversing with him to say, ' Behold an Israelite indeed, 
in whom there is no guile.' He inspired the fullest confidence ; and 
in all my subsequent intercourse with him at different intervals, I 
always delighted to contemplate this peculiar feature of his charac- 

* In company with Mr. Joseph Cottle of Bristol. 



THIRD JOURNEY. 

ter, this mirror of the soul, reflecting his guileless thoughts. He 
was in the prime of manhood, tall, well-built, with all that gentle 
courtesy which becomes a Christian, so far superior to artificial 
polish. They went abroad for several years. Mrs. H. must here 
take up the tale. My song is ended. 

" It has been one of my greatest privations, on my return from 
Italy, to find him suffering from that debilitating malady which 
closed his valuable life. I had many subjects to consult him about. 
He is gone, and few will see his like again for singleness of eye and 
steadiness of purpose in the Christian course. Of his talents and 
philological acquirements it does not become me to speak. Others 
who have had more communication with him in later years will do 
it better. But his labours, I am persuaded, have not been in vain 
in the Lord, as they have all had one object in view, the purity of 
the sacred text, and the spread of the Scriptures to the ends of the 
earth. 

" Communicate this, please, to T . You will see at a glance 

why it was not addressed to her or her mother, though such old 
friends. I have related a fragment, and an important one, which 
none else knew so well. Adieu, dear friend. 

" Your's affectionately, 

(Signed) " M. Young." 

It was needful for Dr. Henderson to tear himself away 
from Bath. Passing through Carlisle, where he was the 
favoured guest of the late Rev. Mr. Fawcett, a clergyman 
well known as a lover hoth of the literal and the spiritual 
Israel, he repaired to Edinburgh to superintend the print- 
ing as well as write the concluding part of his work on 
Iceland. Two hundred pages of Introduction and Appen- 
dix had yet to be composed ; and this amid the incessant 
interruption of public meetings and of private social 
gatherings. Crowded assemblies, varying from 1500 to 
2000 people, had to be attended day after day. Speeches 
had to be delivered, and sermons preached. 

The Bible Society laid claim to his chief services, but 
other interests were borne in mind. Appeal was about to 
be made for the congregation at Hamburgh, and one who 



EDINBURGH. 221 

knew the merits of the case from personal observation was 
judged the most suitable to plead in its behalf. His 
sermon is still preserved, though stamped with the marks 
of age. Would that it could be regarded as a document 
pertaining altogether to a bygone date, and detailing 
follies that are obsolete, iniquities that are no longer prac- 
tised ! Not such, however, is the fact. The testimony 
of the most recent travellers too mournfully proves, that to 
a great extent that important city is morally and reli- 
giously no better than it was half a century ago. te From 
thy face shall I be hid" was the text which the preacher 
selected, and the evils incident to the privation of religious 
ordinances were traced by him step by step ; — the young 
man leaving " the valley of vision," losing his serious 
convictions, led astray by evil company, and plunging into 
the mire of iniquity, till he is glad to soothe his conscience 
by rejecting as uninspired and unauthoritative that holy 
volume which condemns his guilt and announces his 
doom. Two anecdotes were told in illustration of the 
prevalent state of feeling in the leading Continental towns. 
It might be startling to hear, what nevertheless was a 
truth, that at the interment of a gentleman who had been 
a distinguished patron of the theatre, the reading of the 
burial-service over the coffin before the altar of a Protestant 
church, had been followed by the pronouncing of eulogistic 
stanzas within that hallowed edifice in memory of the 
deceased, the repeaters of the poetry being nine females 
of very equivocal character, and the part assigned them 
being to represent the Muses of ancient heathendom ! It 
might be startling to hear, what nevertheless even now 
remains too true : " Your countrymen," said a native of 
Hamburgh, " come over here wearing a garb of piety, and 
for about six weeks they maintain it, after which it is 



THIRD JOURNEY. 

scarcely possible to distinguish them from the people 
around!" The same sentiment is re-echoed to this day; 
but alas ! the English Hamburghers glory in their shame, 
and exultingly say, " Come over here, and you will be 
enlightened." Oh, that they would ponder the full mean- 
ing of the Saviour's solemnly uttered " If the light that 
is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness !" 
Great, indeed, when the rays of heaven-given and heaven- 
ward-guiding light are wilfully excluded! 

It was not in Edinburgh alone that Dr. Henderson was 
employed in advocating the cause of religious and scrip- 
tural benevolence. Glasgow, Paisley, Sterling, etc., were 
visited ; and (if last, not in his esteem the least), Dun- 
fermline, where on March 6th he attended a Bible meeting, 
the Right Hon. the (late) Earl of Elgin in the chair.* If 
in such a life there was much sacrifice of covetable rest, 
there was also much rich enjoyment in Christian inter- 
course. The Hon. and Rev. Gerard Noel — Dr. Chalmers 
— Dr. Buchanan — Mr. Erskine — these, and hundreds more, 
stood forth before him as fruitful trees in a moral paradise, 
invested with an even richer luxuriance by contrast with 
the comparatively dwarfed and struggling patches of ver- 
dure, which, in the midst of barren wastes, had been the 
sole prospect that met his view while looking abroad on 
the nominal Christianity of less favoured lands. ef I have 
seen," he says, " so many characters, and characters of the 
highest interest, that I would need to write a biography 
in folio instead of a single sheet, in order to convey any 
idea of them." 

* Mercer, in his History of Dunfermline (p. 103), states that on the next 
Tuesday, the Earl in delivering an address at the laying of the New Abbey 
Church foundation stone, alluded to the progress of the Gospel, and 
adverted to the fact that Dr. Henderson, a native of that place, had so 
recently brought them good tidings from the North of Europe. 



LONDON. 229 

In the end of April his volumes left the press, bearing a 
dedication to Prince Christian Frederick of Denmark. To 
say that they were well received by the public would be 
superfluous. The varied matter which they contained 
rendered them acceptable to all classes. A second edition 
was called for — speedily, at the rate at which books then 
moved ; and an abridgement was published at a later date 
in America. Independently of the information given on 
subjects of literature and natural history, there is a con- 
siderable amount of biblical criticism incidentally supplied, 
either in the body of the work, or else in long foot-notes. 
These are peculiarly noticeable in connection with the 
author's subsequent career as a commentator. The " stones 
of emptiness," the "way not cast up," the " terrible places 
of the vallies," and many other Scripture phrases are in- 
troduced, with a passing glance at their true and full im- 
port; while lengthened disquisitions on the Icelandic 
" lepra," and on the incrustation of Lot's wife by a salso- 
asphaltic substance, afford fuller and more formal evidence 
of close study and extensive research. 

No sooner was Dr. Henderson at liberty than he hastened 
to claim the hand of his bride elect. Even the few days 
which preceded the tying of the knot, were filled up with 
public engagements. On the very evening of May 18th, 
he had to leave a social family-gathering that he might aid 
in the forming of a Ladies' Bible Association at Hackney. 
On the day following, the marriage-ceremony was per- 
formed at London Stone Church, by the Rev. J. Owen, 
clerical secretary of the Bible Society, who had kindly ex- 
pressed the pleasure it would give him to officiate on the 
occasion. Very brief was the interval allowed to the bride- 
groom for rest. " Under the old dispensation," he wrote, 
" it was ordained that when a man had married, he should 



230 THIRD JOURNEY. 

not go out to war, neither be charged with any business." 
But he had not laid claim to this privilege. The 26th of 
May found him again entering on a series of public meet- 
ings. June was spent in travelling for the Society through 
some of the Southern and Eastern counties ; July, August, 
and September were devoted to the Northern counties and 
Scotland. On most of these tours, he was accompanied 
by his bride; and it was interesting to note the different 
greetings which awaited them. " May the Lord who has 
brought you together, bless you, and may you both be of 
one mind as long as you live," was the patriarchal bene- 
diction uttered by the venerable Mr. Simons, of Paul's 
Cray. " I saw you come into the chapel yesterday morn- 
ing," said Mr. Cowie, "and I thought within myself, 
'They are come for an epithalamium, and they shall have 
it ;' so I changed my text, and gave you the one I did, e I 
have seen an end of all perfection. 5 " Not irreverently, 
not as an ill-judged pleasantry, were the words spoken, 
for he who uttered them knew the danger of creature- 
idolatry, and wished to forewarn his young friends before 
it was too late. He had come from Montrose at this time 
for the express purpose of delivering a valedictory address 
to his former pupil. It was appropriately and affectingly 
worded. Some six hundred Christian friends were present 
at the service. 

On the Monday following (September 28), the travellers 
set sail from Leith. It was intended that after revisiting 
the Hanoverian and Holstein auxiliaries, Dr. Henderson 
should winter at Copenhagen, then pass via Norway to St. 
Petersburgh, and finally take up his abode at Astrachan, 
where rooms were already assigned him in the Mission 
House, and whither the bulk of his luggage was at once 
forwarded to await his expected arrival. It will be seen 



ALTONA. 231 

that circumstances allowed only a portion of this scheme 

to be carried out by him. 

From Altona, he writes : — 

Oct. 24, 1818. 

" I have once more quitted my native shore, not without feelings 
of regret, produced by the recollection of the many kind friends I 
was leaving behind, and the rich abundance of Gospel privileges 
with which Britain is so highly favoured. The conviction, however, 
that many prayers were ascending to God, on my behalf, inspired 
me with fresh resolution to spend and be spent for Christ, and 
cheerfully to proceed to any part of the world in which there is a 
probability that my humble endeavours may contribute to advance 
the Divine glory, and promote the interests of the Redeemer's 
kingdom. 

" We arrived in safety at this place on the Tth inst., after a pas- 
sage of ten days. It was to me a very interesting coincidence, that 
the day after our arrival was the anniversary of the Hamburg- 
Altona Bible Society. Although the meeting was not so numerously 
attended as I could have wished (a circumstance which, I believe, 
was partly owing to the hour at which it was held), I was highly 
gratified by their proceedings. The view of the progress of the 
different Institutions which have been formed throughout the world, 
which was drawn up with much ability by Mr. Hunge, excited a 
peculiar degree of interest ; and will, when printed, contribute very 
essentially to advance the cause of the Society." * 

The interval between his arrival at Altona and the date 
of the foregoing extract had been occupied by a visit to 
Hanover. Leaving Mrs. Henderson with the family of 
Mr. Van der Smissen, he had crossed the Elbe, on the 12th 
inst. ; had passed through Harburg to Bremen, Olden- 
burgh, and Lauenburgh; and had returned on the 21st. 
A week later he pursued his onward journey, visited the 
excellent Pastor Claudius at a parish some five miles from 
Altona, and hastened to Ratzeburg, where on the 29th, a 
meeting was held for the more public recognition of the 
Society which had been founded in 1816. "His Excel- 

* Monthly Extracts, No. 19. Feb. 28, 1819. 



THIRD JOURNEY. 

lency Count Reventlow," he reports, " was chosen Presi- 
dent, than whom they could not have found an individual 
whose rank, piety, popularity, and influence better fitted 
him for this important station." The Sabbath he spent 
at Liibeck, and heard an excellent sermon from the Rev. 
Dr. Geibel of the Reformed Church. At Eutin, Ploen, Kiel, 
Rendsburg, and Schleswig, he found that satisfactory pro- 
gress had been made. (i In the Duchies," he writes, i( the 
cause is prospering nobly. The Landgrave is equally kind 
and zealous. We spent a few days at Schleswig, at Dean 
Callisen's, whose whole soul is engaged in the work." If 
he was encouraged, he was also the means of encouraging 
others. " The visit of our excellent friend, Dr. Henderson, 
and his amiable lady," wrote the Dean, " has given me 
inexpressible pleasure. He seemed to be perfectly satisfied 
with our proceedings, which I immediately explained to 
him. He has strengthened and cheered our hearts. May 
the Lord bless him for ever ! " * 

Having en route visited Roeskilde, the burying-place of 
the Danish kings, the travellers reached their winter 
quarters, Nov. 20th. In Copenhagen, considerable pro- 
gress had been made. As many Bibles had been circulated 
during the last twelvemonth, as in the entire course of ten 
years previous. The improved translation was rapidly 
advancing, and the New Testament was just leaving the 
press in an edition of 10,000 copies (to be followed by a 
similar edition the next year, and by the Bible complete in 
1824). His Majesty, Frederick VI., had presented 4000 
rix-dollars to the Society, and the Queen, Marie Sophia 
Frederica, eldest daughter of the Landgrave of Hesse, 
took a deep interest in its prosperity. On Dec. 14th, 

* Monthly Extracts, No. 21. April 30, 1819. 



COPENHAGEN. 283 

Dr. Henderson writes that he had been honoured with 
an audience of Her Majesty on the previous Wednesday. 
He describes her as " uncommonly affable/' — as having 
put many questions relative to England and to Iceland, — as 
having condescended to express herself gratified by the 
details he had laid before her, — and as having requested 
that he would wait on her again before leaving the 
kingdom. 

It was not in the Danish court alone, that interest was 
excited in his Icelandic travels. A copy of his work having 
been bound for presentation, and then offered through 
Prince Galitzin to the Emperor of Eussia, the following 
communication was received : — 

"Rev. Sir, — It was a peculiar satisfaction for me to have had 
the happy opportunity to bring your name to the memory of His 
Majesty the Emperor, by presenting a copy of your excellent and 
interesting work about Iceland, sent by you for this purpose through 
the medium of your friend, Mr. Paterson. 

" But I rejoice still more to inform you of the most gracious and 
kind manner in which His Imperial Majesty has deigned to receive 
your volumes from you, as from a person so much known even in 
this Empire by his co-operation in the holy cause of the Bible 
Society. The August Monarch desiring to show you a real mark of 
His esteem, sends you hereby a ring, 

" I embrace this occasion of assuring you of the true sentiments 
of friendship from your 

" Sincerely devoted servant, 
(Signed) " Prince Alexander Galitzin. 

" St. Petersburgh, Jan. 31, 1819. 
" To the Rev. Dr. Henderson." 

Accompanying the above was " a small packet, under the 
Imperial seal, and marked by the letter H.," containing a 
handsome ring, set in brilliants, and estimated at two thou- 
sand roubles. 

From the i( Islenzka Bokmenta-felag," or Icelandic Lite- 



THIRD JOURNEY. 

rary Society, he likewise received an honorary document, 
intimating his election as a foreign member. A glance at 
the " Islenzk Sagnablod," a report annually published 
under their auspices, shows the friendly feeling with which 
they entertained his memory, and with which they eagerly 
caught up every casual notice of his movements. At one 
time, after relating how " Sira E. Henderson" had been 
heard of as travelling in Denmark and Germany, they state 
that he was lately resident in Petersburgh, but that they 
have since been unable to trace him. At another time 
they mention his degree of D.Ph., his hasty return from 
Russia, his visit to England. Then again his book, with 
its copper-plate engravings. For several years they mark 
him on their list of members, as resident at Astrachan, and 
not till the year 1824 do they ascertain that his plans had 
been altered. In these days and these lands of railway 
travelling and telegraphic communication, a somewhat 
touching interest attaches to the glimpse thus given of 
intelligent and learned islanders, so far removed from the 
din and turmoil of our busy world, yet so fully sharing in 
the social instincts of our species as to be found keen 
watchers of every change in the political aspect of king- 
doms, and of every vicissitude in the fortunes of their 
distant friends. 

At the close of January, 1819, Dr. Henderson took a 
short excursion into Sweden, revisiting Lund, and reaching 
Carlscrona in safety, despite the unfavourable state in 
which he found the winter-roads. On his journey he read 
through the Epistle of James in the original. He had an 
eye, nevertheless, for the landscapes amid which he was 
passing. " The country towards this place is very woody, 
and being much diversified by hills and dales, bays and 
lakes, must present some fine scenery in summer. I have 



CARLSCRONA. 235 

already made two calls, and expect to be able to do some- 
thing on a grand scale for the Bible cause. Here is ample 
scope : upwards of 7000 belonging to the xidmiralty to be 
supplied with Bibles. Carlscrona is the Portsmouth of 
Sweden." His visits in this town were numerous, and not 
unproductive .* The Commanding Admiral cordially pro- 
mised his sanction and support. The Civil Governor pro- 
mised to communicate with all the leading authorities, 
and to convene a meeting in the Town Hall. The Dean, 
bordering on eighty years of age, was ready to exclaim, 
"Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace," 
when he was told of the great things which were being 
accomplished in many a land, and even on his own native 
soil in Holstein. The 2nd of February was the day 
which witnessed the establishment of the " Swedish Naval 
Bible Society." 

" At eleven o'clock, the Governor took the chair. One of the clergy f 
brought a large folio Bible, and laid it on the table, adverting briefly, 
but very appropriately, to the impression the view of the Sacred 
Volume was calculated to make. The Governor was supported on 
the right by the Commanding Admiral Lagerstrahle, and on the left 
by the Commandant Admiral Trolle. Your poor husband was then 
called upon to address the meeting, which, as it came quite unex- 
pectedly, he had to do extempore. I am afraid his Swedish would 
not have stood the test of Dr. Brunnmark's Grammar, The pithiest 
sentence he uttered was the offer of a grant from the Society in 
London. A plan he had projected was then read by the Governor. 
The names of forty-seven Subscribers were taken down upon the 
spot, and a provisional Committee formed." 

Having attended the first General Meeting of the Kal- 
mar Bible Society, which he found on the point of being 

* "I cannot sufficiently praise the good and zealous behaviour of Dr. 
Henderson on that occasion," wrote Count Rosenblad from Stockholm. 
(Report for 1819, Appendix, p. 183.) 

f The Royal Chaplain, the Rev. W. Holm. 



236 THIRD JOURNEY. 

held when he arrived in that town, he returned by way of 
Wexio to the Danish capital. The latter part of his jour- 
ney had not been without its perils. The road was known 
to be infested by lawless marauders, and the protection 
of a hussar was requisite. It was the first time he had 
required such aid. It was not, however, on an arm of 
flesh that he rested his confidence ; and the aid of an 
Almighty Guardian called forth his grateful hallelujah. 

On reaching Copenhagen, he was rejoiced to receive the 
tidings that a Society had been formed at Fredericia in 
Jutland, with the French pastor* and Danish rector of 
which town he had been in correspondence on the subject. 
In April, the Copenhagen Society accomplished another 
branch of their enterprise ; and the report was sent home : — 

Copenhagen, April 3, 1819. 

" I am happy to be able to state that the Edition of the Creolian 
New Testament, consisting of 1200 copies, has now left the .press, 
and that a supply will be sent by the earliest opportunity for distri- 
bution among the swarthy sons of Africa, who, by a Divine blessing 
on the perusal of them, may become the freed men of Christ, and be 
taught to render service from the heart as to the Lord, and not to 
man, till that period arrives when they shall be invested with the 
same privileges with the rest of our common species."f 

The Committee likewise devised at this season several 
important measures, such as the publication of a monthly 
circular, and the sending of a deputation from time to 
time into the provinces, to increase a sympathetic interest 
in the cause. The Secretary, Dr. Jens Moller, devoted 
himself assiduously to the work, and the new vigour infused 
into their movements was attended with a prosperity un- 
known to them before. On May 17, the Annual Meeting 

* The Rev. Charles Rieu, one of the Geneva students who had shared 
in Mr. R. Haldane's Scripture-instructions, 
f Monthly Extracts, No. 26. Sept. 30, 1819. 



COPENHAGEN. 281 

was held, at which four times as many persons were present 
as had ever assembled before on the like occasion. On the 
Saturday preceding, Dr. Henderson had been summoned 
to wait upon the Landgrave of Hesse, who had arrived at 
the Friedericksberg Palace. His Serene Highness had 
then given his consent to be present at the meeting. True 
alike to his word of promise and to his zeal for the Society, 
the aged Prince arrived at the hall in his carriage-and-six, 
attended by his adjutants. His speech came with double 
weight from one of his rank, and especially of his years. 
From his lips Dr. Henderson received the parting assurance 
of goodwill : " Farewell, my dear friend ; may God be with 
you on your distant journey."* That journey was com- 
menced on the ensuing day. 

When crossing the Sound, the travellers were slightly 
alarmed by an affair, which, though trivial in itself, illus- 
trated the feeling of international jealousy. The captain 
omitted to lower his sail in time as he passed beneath the 
shadow of Kronberg's towers ; the guard-ship fired over the 
boat, as if to threaten reprisal for the insult done to the 
Danish flag; and, with instant speed, the due act of 
homage was submissively paid. From Helsingburgh, the 
party went on to Gottenburgh, Dr. Henderson still seizing 
every opportunity to further his great work, — talking here 
to a farmer, who expressed the wish to have a Bible with 
marginal references, — and there to a postilion, who ob- 
served, that " the less we read the Bible the less we are in- 
clined to read it," and that " often we read it least when 
we have the most time." Comparing the facts culled on 



* Eight years afterwards, Dean Callisen writing to my father under 
date May 1, 1827, says, "Unser alter guter Landgraf, der mit wahrer 
Herzens-freundschaft an Ihnen hmigt, befindet sich nach semen hohen Alter 
noch ziemlich wohl." 



238 THIRD JOURNEY. 

this journey with those that came to his knowledge in 
previous years, he was able to arrive at the satisfactory 
result, that many more families were now supplied with 
copies of the word of life than had formerly possessed 
them. 

At Gottenburgh he intended leaving his wife and child, 
while he took his long-planned journey into Norway. Ever 
since 1812, he had deeply felt the need of supplying that 
country with Bibles ; and especially had his attention been 
directed to Finmark, where the Norwegian Laplanders had 
access only to Danish Bibles, which very few among them were 
able to understand.* The " chances and changes " of war, 
especially as they affected the political relation of Norway 
to the crowns of Denmark and Sweden, had for many 
years rendered all attempt on this behalf utterly hopeless. 
In 1814, its annexation to Sweden was effected, while 
yet its independence was secured. But even when things 
were thus placed on a firm basis, a year or two necessarily 
passed, ere vigorous measures could be adopted. At 
length, however, the time seemed to have come. Every 
obstacle appeared to be removed. Not only so, but there 
was a preparedness on the part of the people. Hans 
Nielsen Hauge, a native of Frederickstadt, and resident 
mainly at Bergen, had been the instrument of a great 
work in his native land. Like a "Whitfield or a Wesley, 
he had stirred up multitudes from a state of spiritual in- 
sensibility. Privately and publicly, in season and out of 
season, by his voice and by his pen, he had borne his testi- 
mony. Thousands of miles he had travelled in a year, 
and chiefly on foot, that he might disperse the good seed 

* In 1822, this was taken up by the British and Foreign Bible Society, 
and £200 voted toward a version of the New Testament, which was under- 
taken in 1828, and published about 1840. 



GOTTEN BURGH. 239 

throughout the length and breadth of the land. More 
than a score of volumes had he published, and many an 
edition had some of them reached. Eleven times had he 
been imprisoned, once for the space of ten long years ; yet 
nothing could be alleged against him save the charge of 
ecclesiastical irregularity. He was a loyal subject, and 
uttered no words of disaffection against the existing govern- 
ment. He was a firm Lutheran, and sought not to establish 
a sect or party. But he encouraged private meetings for 
social devotion, and this was contrary to law. Those 
who were roused to give earnest heed to the gospel, were 
nicknamed Haugians; but, to their honour be it spoken, 
their enemies themselves being witnesses, they could (like 
Daniel) have nothing laid to their charge, except as touch- 
ing their assemblies for prayer to God.* 

It naturally followed that " as new-born babes," these 
ten thousand recent converts were found desiring " the 
sincere milk of the word." In 1816, a Bible Society had 
been instituted in the metropolis. The flame needed only 
to be fanned, the light needed only to be spread. A kindly 
hand seemed wanting. But the help which Dr. Henderson 
was now prepared to render, he was not permitted to be- 
stow. " Nevertheless " it was "well" that it was in his 
" heart." 

On the Friday after he had reached Gottenburgh, he 
started in a small country conveyance, so low-built that 
its structure naturally suggested a notion of perfect security. 
" It is hardly bigger than a wheelbarrow ; if it were upset, 
you could scarcely be hurt," was the remark casually made ; 

* This evangelist and his mission are alluded to in Conway's Travels 
(see Constable's Miscellany, vol. xxxviii. p. 139) : and fuller details con- 
cerning him are given by Dr. J. P. Smith in the Evangelical Magazine, 
(1830), pp. 531 — 533 ; as also by Dr. Patersonin the Scotch Congregational 
Magazine, vol. iv. (1838), pp. 72, 115, etc. 



240 THIRD JOURNEY. 

but ere night the words were proved erroneous. About 
midday, the little vehicle was descending a steep hill, when, 
through the carelessness of the driver, it was violently over- 
turned ; the apron-strap gave way ; the traveller was 
thrown out, striking successively his arm, his shoulder, 
and his head. On the brow there was a mere scratch ; 
but the other blows had done serious mischief. The 
patient, unable to bear the motion of a carriage, was con- 
veyed to the river, which lay at no great distance, and 
taken back along the Gotha Elf. The twofold injury ren- 
dered a cure difficult. The shoulder was set immediately; 
but the need of keeping the limb perfectly quiescent till 
the fractured socket should have re-united, caused a delay 
before the radius or smaller bone of the fore-arm could be 
attended to. A re-setting was requisite; inflammation 
supervened ; and eventually it was found that the bones in 
the fore-arm had lost their power of flexion and rotation. 

Among the sympathizing friends, who came to visit him, 
was the Eev. Ephraim Starre, the Moravian minister,* who 
wrote the following lines in allusion to the event : — 

"GUT GEMEINT. 

" Dem Freunde E. H. 

" Wie ! war mein Pass auf diesen Weg nicht gut ? 
" Verfehlten derm die En gel ihre Huth? 
"Kann, wenn wir Gott mit Glaubens-armen fassen, 
" Er einem Kind die Arme brechen lassen ? — 
" Der Pass ist gut — der Nahme Jesus Christ, 
" Der bis an's End' der Himmel gultig ist ; 
" Die Engel sind getreu in ihrem Schiitzen ; 
"Der Glaube kann auf Gott sich sicher stutzen ; 
" Wer ist wie Gott so gnadig und getreu ? — 
"Noch bricht der Herr mir meinen Arm entzwey ! 

* This worthy man was still living, though very aged, in 1830, when 
he had the joy of being present at the formation of the Gottenburgh 
Missionary Society. (See Evan. Mag, for 1832, p. 314.) 



GOTTENBURGH. 241 

" Spricht audi " Warum ?" zum Schopfer ein Geschopfe r 

" Der Topfer hat in seiner Macht die Topfe ! 

"All mein Gebein soil sagen immerzu : 

" Wer ist, O Gott, O ! grosser Gott, wie Du ! 

" Fern sey, dass Du d'rum ungerecht seyn solltest ! 

" Wenn Du mich ganz in Stiicke brechen wolltest ! 

"Dein Vaterherz ist inir zu wohl bekannt. 

"Du fassest mich bey meiner rechten Hand, 

"Und ich fass auch — doch mit zerbrochnen Armen — 

" Dein gnadiges, dein vaterlich's Erbarmen. 

" Schau her, ich leg in Jesu-Seiten-Schrien 

"Die lahme Hand, den morschen Arm hinein ! 

" Den Glaubens-Arm hast du mir ganz gelassen : 

"Mit dem will ich die Nagelmale fassen. 

" Dein' Schmertzen heil'n und lindern meinen Schmertz ; 

" Ach ! schenke mir nur ein zerbrochnes Herz ! 

" Fiir mich ward Dir die Seite ja zerstochen, 

" Jedoch kein Bein am Leibe dir zerbrochen ! 

" Fiir mich gehort's, da ich dem Schacher gleich ; 

" Gedenke auch an mich in Deinem Reich ! 

" Vergieb mir, Herr ! die Werke meiner Hiinde, 

"Die ich auf s neu zu deinem Dienst verpfande. 

" Ich lobe Dich und preise Deinen Rath, 

" Auch fur die jetzt an mir vollbrachte That ! 

" Wenn Du nur nicht von Deinem Knechte weichest, 

"Vielmehr mir jetzt dein' Vaterhande reichest, 

" Ach ! hilf, dass ich hinfort mein Lebenlang 

" Dich unverriickt mit Armen vest umfang, 

" Und keinen Arm gebrauch' zu keinem Dinge, 

" Als nur wo ich dein "Wollen, Herr, vollbringe ! 

"Zu diesem Zweck, hen" den gebrochnen Stab — 

"Den Arm, den ich Dir nun gewidmet hab' ! 

" Die Heilungskraft fiir alle Krumm und Lahmen, 

" Ist ja in Dir, o Theurer Jesus Nahmen : 

" Du kannst, Du willst, Du thust es wirklig. Amen !" 

A rough translation is given, in which an attempt has 
been made to embody, so far as might be, some notion 
both of its meaning and its metre. 

How this ! my passport's range had I o'erstepp'd ? 
Or guardian -an gels in their watch-hour slept ? 
Will God, when faith's fond arm to Him is cleaving, 
Let child of His a broken arm be grieving ? 
My passport failed me not ! It never fails ; 
The name of Christ through utmost heaven avails ! 
R 



242 THIRD JOURNEY. 

The angel-hosts were faithful still abiding ; 

And faith's secure when in the Lord confiding. 

"Who equals Him so gracious and so true ? — 

Yet He, even He hath broke my arm in two ! — 

Shall creature-man the ' Why ' be found demanding ? 

The potter holds the clay at his commanding ! 

My every bone must evermore avow 

There's none so great, O mighty God, as Thou ! 

Forbid that Thou unrighteous shouldst be deemed, 

Though good to Thee my utter crushing seemed, 

Right well I know a Father's heart is Thine. 

Thou holdest me by this right hand of mine ; 

While I lay hold, albeit with arm thus broken, 

On the rich love thy many favours token. 

See ! in this shrine, to wit, my Saviour's side, 

This arm unsound, this powerless hand I'll hide ! 

With faith's strong arm which hath no hurt sustained, 

I'll touch the scars where Calvary's nail-wounds pained. 

Thy pangs assuage and heal my every smart ; 

Yet give, ah ! give me, Lord, a broken heart ! 

For me Thy side the piercing spear admitted, 

But fractured bone was not in Thee permitted ; 

Mine is the sinner's due ; be mine his plea, 

And in Thy kingdom, Lord, remember me ! 

Be all the works of these my hands forgiven, 

Which now anew I consecrate to heaven. 

I adore Thee, Lord, and praise Thy sovereign will, 

Yea, e'en for this ordainment bless Thee still ! 

If, unforsaking, Thou Thy servant watchest, 

Yea, verily, Thy helping hand outstretchest, 

Oh ! grant Thine aid through all life's future race, 

That firm I hold Thee in a fast embrace, 

Nor put my hand to any work whatever, 

Unless Thy cause be served by such endeavour ! 

To which intent heal now this broken bone — 

The arm, thus dedicate to Thee alone. 

O precious Saviour, in whose name lies stored 

A healing balm for all by whom implored, 

Thou canst — wilt — dost heal ! Be thy power adored ! 

As soon as the invalid was sufficiently recovered to bear 
a short journey, he was ordered to try the baths at Udde- 
valla. A six weeks' stay in that place was highly conducive 
to the re-invigoration of his frame ; but the arm remained 
as rigid as ever. 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 243 

It was needful to be moving on. There was no time left 
for Norway. The Russian capital must be reached before 
the setting in of winter. Trollhatta's renowned waterfalls, 
and the island-studded Malern lake, were viewed with 
interest; the leading friends of the Stockholm Bible 
Society were visited ; and the Gulf of Finland was safely 
crossed. At Abo, there was a happy meeting with Dr. 
Paterson, who had been making the tour of Finland, and 
who now returned with his friends to St. Petersburgh, 
which was reached on Sept. 11th. 

The news of the Gottenburgh accident had excited much 
sympathy, and its remaining effects caused means to be 
taken for securing the first medical advice. The surgeon 
to His Imperial Majesty was interested in the case of his 
fellow-countryman, and a consultation of eminent practi- 
tioners was held. The skill of Sir James Wylie was in 
such repute, that he was proverbially described as able to 
take a man's head off and put it on again without killing 
him. The only remedy that would meet the present evil, 
was an experiment of the sort on a smaller scale. The arm 
might be broken again, after which it could be advan- 
tageously re-set. But the operation was declined. To 
one who was just able anew to ply the pen, everything 
else was a minor consideration ; and it was thought better 
to endure other inconveniences than risk the possible loss 
of the ground already gained. The dexter-wrist, therefore, 
that had but half the rotatory power of its fellow,* was a 
life-long remembrance of the bar which had effectually 
closed the door on Norway. 

* From. Tchernigov he wrote two years afterwards: "My fellow- 
travellers got me persuaded to purchase a gun in Tver. You may easily 
guess that it does not suit my right hand so well to draw the trigger as to 
write Arabic : however, I have shot a wild pigeon, and may perhaps con- 
trive to get a duck for supper one of these evenings." 



244 THIRD JOURNEY. 

For a while, Dr. Henderson acted as his friend's assist- 
ant. He had written to him from Copenhagen some three 
years before — "I wish I were ready to come to your assist- 
ance : I hope I might be able to act as your Secretary." 
The wish was now realized, and the longed-for post attained. 
Again the companions were labouring side by side. The 
work in which the junior could aid, was in carrying on 
much of the home and foreign correspondence. The sub- 
joined extract from one of his letters to the London Com- 
mittee gives interesting proofs, that as in every land the 
heart of man is the same, so for every heart the gospel is 
adapted in its power to cheer, and bless, and save : — 

St. Petersburgh, June 19, 0. S., 1820. 

" The following letter, written by a boy of twelve years of age, 
cannot fail to interest every friend of the Bible : 

" ' Most honoured members of the Saevian Bible Society in the 
government of Orel, — 

" ' My father serves the Emperor. My grandfather, with whom I 
live, is blind. My two grandmothers are both of them old and infirm. 
My mother alone, by the labour of her hands, supports us all. She 
herself taught me to read. I have a desire to read the word of God, 
but I have no books, except the Psalter in a very tattered state. My 
blind grandfather has by the ear alone acquired a great knowledge 
of divine things, and likes very much that I should repeat something 
to him by heart. 

"' Confer on me, I pray you, a holy book. I hear you have it, and 
that you distribute to those who have money, for money ; and to the 
poor, for nothing. I will read it, and I will pray to God for you. 

" ' Ivan, 
Nov. 1819. " < The Grandson of the blind Stephen.' 



a i 



" A very interesting anecdote was also communicated by a priest 
in Kazan. It is customary on the eves of the great feasts in the 
Greek Church, to read the Acts of the Apostles to the people who 
are assembled in the churches. A young woman had recently gone 
as usual, and walking up and down, happened, as she passed the 
reader, to hear something that arrested her attention. She listened, 
and the more she heard, the more did she feel interested, and was 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 245 

chained to the spot till the reading of the Scripture was finished. 
The following day she went to the priest, and expressed her earnest 
desire to be permitted to read the book which she had heard read 
the preceding evening in church. He immediately took down one 
of the Society's New Testaments, and beginning to read the portion 
of Scripture she had heard in the public service, ' Yes,' she ex- 
claimed, ' these are the very words.' She was now almost in an 
ecstacy ; and taking the New Testament home with her, she sat up 
two whole nights, in order to read through the Acts of the Apostles. 
On returning the New Testament, she could not sufficiently extol it, 
but delivered it into the hands of the priest, with downcast looks, and 
a strong degree of reluctance, which plainly intimated that she would 
have kept the volume if she might. You may conceive what was 
her joy, when she was presented with the treasure which she prized 
so highly."* 

The studies which occupied the closing months of 1819, 
like those of the preceding winter at Copenhagen, con- 
sisted in the mastering of the Turkish, Tatar, and Persic 
languages, all of which would be needed for his Astrachan 
duties, on which he anticipated entering at no distant in- 
terval. But the opening of the New Year was again to teach 
the frailty of mortal life and the uncertainty of human 
plans. On the first Sabbath of January it devolved on 
Dr. Henderson to preach in the morning.f " I am the 
bread of life" was the theme on which he dwelt; and 
there was one present, who, with faith in lively exercise, 
was able to draw spiritual nourishment from the truth 
preached ; — one, however, to whom that service was to be 



* Monthly Extracts, No. 38. Sept. 30, 1820. 

t At the Sarepta Chapel, where Mr. Swan had laboured while studying 
the Russ preparatory to joining Mr. Stallybrass in Siberia, a morning 
service had by this time been commenced. During the year 1820, the 
preaching devolved on Dr. Henderson and the Rev. J. J. Carruthers, a 
Missionary on his way to the Crimea. In December of that year, a 
stated pastor was obtained in the R,ev. Richard Knill, whom to name is 
alone sufficient to awaken recollections of an eminently earnest, simple- 
hearted, prayerful, and heaven-blessed zeal. 



246 THIRD J0URXEY. 

her last on earth. On the 23rd of the month, the same 
preacher stood up in the same pulpit, but it was a funeral 
sermon which he delivered with faltering lips. " Let me 
die the death of the righteous" formed the basis of his 
discourse, while Mrs. Paterson's Christian course, and tri- 
umphant end furnished the pattern which it held out for 
holy emulation. Owing to this bereavement, which obliged 
the mourning widower to seek a temporary respite from 
his manifold duties, his friend's presence was needed in the 
Russian metropolis for another twelvemonth. 

It was not till March 2 (14), 1821, that Doctors Paterson 
and Henderson could so arrange as to start in company 
with Mr. Seroff, one of the Committee, on their projected 
visit to some of the chief towns in the Russian Empire. 
Dr. Pinkerton supplied their place for a while in St. 
Petersburgh, until business took him to London; after 
which, the affairs of the Bible House devolved on the staff 
of officials there employed under the ordinary Committee 
of Management. As the tour has already been laid before 
the public by each traveller separately, the " summa fas- 
tigia " must here for the most part suffice. 

It was not only in having his friend with him that Dr. 
Henderson found an important difference between his Ice- 
landic and his Russian journeys. When making the 
former, he had no home-ties, no home-anxieties ; but now 
his thoughts naturally reverted, with no small concern, to 
those whom he had left behind. He endeavoured to lighten 
the absence by a correspondence as brisk as the circum- 
stances of the case would admit; while to ease his mind 
of its burden, he cast his care on One who had promised to 
care for him. 

The following extract from a congratulatory birthday- 
letter is worth preserving: — 



TOUR IN RUSSIA. 247 

. . . "During this day's journey from Alexin, a small town where 
we stopped last night, my thoughts have been much occupied about 
you ; and while my warmest gratitude has ascended to the Father of 
mercies for having brought you into existence at first, and watched 
over you with such tender care, till in the course of His all- wise and 
benign Providence, we were united in that endearing relation in which 
we now stand to each other, my most ardent prayers have been pre- 
sented at the throne of His grace, in behalf of that life which so closely 
involves the happiness of my own, that it may be lengthened out to 
remote years ; that I also may be spared and have grace given me to 
sweeten and endear those years, and that every succeeding revolution 
in the period of our subluuarye xistence may be increasingly devoted 
to the service of Him to whom we owe our every mercy. Oh ! what 
would human existence be, were it not for the enjoyments of the new 
creation — the results of that birthday of grace, when the Lord in His 
infinite mercy was pleased to call us out of darkness into His marvel- 
lous light, when the old things passed away, and all things became 
new. To enjoy the smiles of the Divine favour ; to walk in the 
liberty of the children of God : to hold converse with the unseen 
world ; to grow in the assimilating knowledge of our glorious Ee- 
deemer, and to hold fast the hope of eternal life ; in one word, to live 
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved us, and gave Himself for 
us, is the only life deserving of the name. The natural man, with 
all that this world can contribute to his comfort, is dead while he 
liveth. The curse of the Almighty rests on his existence, and its 
prolongation only accumulates the tremendous load he is doomed to 
bear. It is the privilege of the true believer to rejoice even in the 
flight of time, forasmuch as he knows that the swifter it flies, the 
more rapidly it accelerates the approach of that blissful day when he 
shall have done with time and all its divisions — (all below is only in 
part, 1 Cor. xiii.) — and, delightful prospect, all its sins and trials 
and afflictions, and enter on the entire enjoyment of a boundless dura- 
tion. In regard to the progress of our earthly pilgrimage, how im- 
portant is the exhortation of the Apostle, ' Redeeming the time.' 
Though what is past cannot be recalled, yet the expression in the 
passage just quoted (i£ayopa(6nevoi) intimates that it may still be 
turned to account, by our being excited to a more diligent improve- 
ment of what may remain by the reflection that so much is irrecover- 
ably gone away. Let us be greedy of this gain ! Let us seize the 
flying moments as holding forth for our acceptance something infi- 
nitely more precious than the produce of both the Indies. ' On time 
eternity depends ' should be constantly sounding in our ears, and im- 
pressed upon our hearts ; and the diligence and activity, the holiness 



248 THIRD JOURNEY. 

and piety, which such a solemn truth is calculated to produce, at all 
times exhibited by our conversation in the world. 

" To you, my dearest Susan, the past year has not been without 
its sufferings ;* but oh, how much mercy hath the Lord mingled in the 
cup : mercy hath indeed rejoiced against judgment. This year I am 
to be absent from you, but God, your Maker and your Husband, will 
never leave you nor forsake you. Let Him be your confidence and 
your trust, uot only in regard to your own individual and family 
mercies at home, but also as it respects me on my present journey. To 
Him I ever commend you and our dear little girl. May He also bless 
her, and keep her, and make her His own, and lift her up for ever." 

A free " podoroshnaia " or order for post-horses, — permis- 
sion to transmit letters gratis to St. Petersburgh by the cou- 
rier who bore the Government-despatches — introduction to 
the chief authorities in each province and town — a military 
escort to protect them in passing through the unsettled 
districts of Moldavia and of the Caucasus, — such were the 
privileges accorded to the travellers. Nor was it wonder- 
ful, that, going forth under the Imperial auspices, they 
should repeatedly have found ecclesiastical dignitaries 
placing a carriage-and-six at their disposal. m They knew 
how to regard the honour. They were aware that it was 
an official rather than a personal compliment. Too much 
reason had they to fear, that in some cases, the show of 
zeal for the Society was motived only by the desire of 
securing the Emperor's good- will. There were other in- 
stances, however, and not a few, in which they met with 
governors, professors, metropolitans, archimandrites, and 
priests, whom they could not but regard as sincerely 
Christian men. 

It was their endeavour, wherever they went, to do 
good so far as they had opportunity. Two incidents, 

* In the year 1820, Mrs. H. had not only watched beside the death- 
bed of Mrs. Paterson, whom she loved as a sister, but had also received 
tidings of her own mother's decease. 



TOUR IN RUSSIA. 249 

in proof, may be furnished from letters written on the 
journey. 

"To-day is the first Sabbath in the month with you. How we 
could have wished to partake of your privileges ! Alas, our lot is 
widely different. It is not for the present in the pleasant places and 
the goodly heritage. Yet we dare not repine. We cannot be suffi- 
ciently thankful for what we do enjoy ; and our Heavenly Father 
will make us rich amends for the temporary privations to which we 
are subjected for the sake of His kingdom and name. We went this 
morning to the Lutheran Church in the hope of hearing something 
for the edification of our souls ; but, alas ! alas ! Ichabod; the glory is 
departed from the place, if ever it was honoured with its presence. 
Psalms were sung, and prayers uttered, in which the adorable 
name of Jesus never occurred. The usual Lutheran liturgy was 
omitted, for no other reason, that I can divine, than because of its 
unequivocal recognition of the grand distinguishing doctrines of the 
Christian faith. And the sermon was of a piece with the rest of the 
service — a dry palaver about laying our account that our principles 
and conduct will be misconstrued by our fellow-men, if we be in- 
deed the friends of virtue. In front of the pulpit was a representation 
of the crucifixion ; it occupied a most appropriate place, exactly 
under the feet of the preacher ! A striking portrait of Luther on the 
right, and another of John on the left (on whose evangelic record of 
the last consolatory discourse of our Redeemer, the sermon pretended 
to be founded), exhibited most significantly these two disciples of 
Jesus turning their backs on the pulpit and the preacher, refusing to 
acknowledge the doctrine that was preached as agreeable to the words 
of eternal life ! ... As we had driven up to his church in the car- 
riage of the metropolitan, his curiosity was excited to know who we 
were ; and we have just been apprized that he intends calling upon 
us in the afternoon, when we hope to have an opportunity of dealing 
faithfully with his soul. 

" I am not at liberty to enter into particulars to-day.* I hope still 
to do something during the sacred hours for the promotion of the 
glory of Jesus. Pray earnestly and constantly for me that I may have 
grace given me to speak and act on every occasion as I ought." 

* My father was a very strict, yet not a slavish Sabbatarian. To 
write letters on the sacred day he would have condemned as an ordinary 
practice. But where, as in this case, it was a work of mercy, and there- 
fore of necessity — he prepared the missive that should announce all was 
well, but he abstained from such details as were wholly unconnected with 
the form and the power of godliness. 



£50 THIRD JOURNEY. 

The second instance is as follows : — 

" We formed the acquaintance of a German physician, a clever man, 
but unfortunately his mind is deeply impregnated with infidel prin- 
ciples. He accompanied us to our lodgings, and most of the evening 
was spent in argumentation about the plurality of worlds, the im- 
mensity of creation, the moral state of man, the nature of redemption 
by the blood of Christ, etc. Two things, which we brought forward, 
seemed to strike him. First, in answer to his objection that Moses 
should attach so much importance to the earth in the account he gives 
of the creation, and pass by the other planets, which are nevertheless 
so much bigger than that which we inhabit, — we simply remarked 
that none of the planets possessed such an interest for us as the globe 
which we inhabit, and that as the Bible contained a revelation, not of 
astronomical science, nor for the inhabitants of other planets, but for 
us men and the salvation of our souls, it would have been quite in- 
consistent to have introduced into it any matter that did not bear a 
closer or more remote relation to the subject of which it professed to 
treat. The second was the answer we gave him in Scripture language 
to his question respecting the necessity of the death of Christ : ' That 
God might be just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly who believe 
in Jesus.' I hope our conversations with him will not be lost ; and 
should our visit to this place be productive of no other effect, how we 
shall rejoice should we ever learn that it was the means of restoring 
one poor unhappy wanderer to the true path of life and salvation." 

From Novogorod and Tver they took their way to 
Moscow, where they were detained for a month, owing to 
the sudden setting in of the thaw, and the consequently 
impassable state of the roads. Here they received invita- 
tions (among others) from the Chancellor of the University, 
and from Professor Fischer, President of the Medico- 
chirurgical Academy, who, in the genuine style of foreign 
literati, appended to his name a string of thirty or more 
offices and honours. Through him, and in the name of 
the University Curator, documents were subsequently 
forwarded in evidence of their enrolment, on May 25, 
1821, among the members of the " Societas Caesarea 
Naturse Curiosorum Mosquensis." In the meanwhile, 
Dr. Henderson was turning his unexpected leisure to the 



PULTAVA, ETC. 251 

best account. Securing the aid of an Armenian teacher, 
he set himself to the deliberate and systematic study of 
the language, with a view, as usual, to his residence in 
the South. 

In the middle of April, it was deemed possible to resume 
their journey. Kalouga, Koursk, and Kharkof led on to 
the decayed batteries of Pultava. The field of battle, so 
disastrous to the Swedish hero, was traversed; and the 
government, in which it lies, is described as being, through- 
out that entire portion of it, " an immense Aceldama," 
filled with ancient camp-mounds, and with war-commemo- 
rative tumuli. Tchernigov, one of the oldest towns in 
European Russia, — Kieff, with its catacombs, and its 
saintly relics, — Ostrog, the residence of the Bishop of 
Jitomir, — Kaminetz Podolsk, — Kishenef,— and Bender ; 
such was their line of route to Odessa. By reason of the 
hostilities which were being carried on between the Walla- 
chians and Turks, the latter stages had been passed within 
sight of modern encampments, and warriors armed for 
conflict. At Kaminetz, the travellers had dined in com- 
pany with the Russian General Joltuchi, who was there 
stationed with a force of ten thousand men; and, near 
the Pruth, they had a view of the spot where five hundred 
partisans of the Hetaireia were gathered under the red- 
cross banner of Ypsilanti, clothed in that sable-coloured 
uniform which memory associates with the doom awaiting 
the brave band a fortnight later in the fearful conflict of 
Drageschan. But in the political questions which agitated 
the district, it was not for the wayfarers to intermeddle. 
They were engaged in distributing a message that was of 
universal application ; and hence, whatever the secret 
sympathies with which as intelligent men they could not 
but lean to the one side or to the other, it behoved them 



2b% 



THIRD JOURNEY, 



to restrain those expressions of feeling which, if not 
impotent, would have been productive only of mischief by 
awakening suspicions as to their true character and design. 
At Odessa they remained from the 12th to the 20th of 
June. On the Sabbath they heard two excellent sermons ; 
one in the Lutheran church, from the Superintendent 
Bottiger ; and the other in the Catholic chapel, from Dean 
Lindel, whom they had known and esteemed in Peters- 
burgh, where his eloquent denunciations against image- 
worship, although they startled the Sardinian ambassador 
into complaints of his heterodoxy, had secured for him the 
countenance and protection of the Emperor.* On the 
17th (O. S.), they attended and took part in the ordina- 
tion of Messrs. Hosenstrauch and Saltet, missionaries 
from Basle, who were bound for the Crimea as agents of 
the Edinburgh Jewish Society. On the 19th, they attended 
by invitation the funeral of the Constantinopolitan patriarch 
Gregory, long a warm friend to the Bible Society. It was 
now about six weeks since he had met with his tragic 
end. His corpse, meanwhile, had undergone sad and 
strange vicissitudes. Pierced by the weapons of the 
Mussulman, " for three days it had hung at the gate of 
the Patriarchal palace ; for three days more had been the 
object of Jewish scorn ; and a day and night had been in 
the deep ;" yet now at length it found a grave, and 
funeral-honours not undeserved. 



* A volume of this preacher's discourses was given, to the public : — 
" Fiinf Predigten von Ignaz Lindl." The second edition, 12mo, was pub- 
lished in St. Petersburgh, 1820. In 1823, he was banished the empire 
on false accusation. After having long preached Protestant doctrine 
within the walls of a Romish church, first in Bavaria, and then in South- 
ern Russia, he forsook the Papal communion, avowed himself a Lutheran, 
published his " Glaubens-Bekenntniss" (Leipz. 1824), and obtained a 
charge at Barmen, contiguous to that of Dr. Krummacher at Elberfeld. 



KHERSON. £53 

The grave of the philanthropic Howard, and the ceno- 
taph raised to his memory, were gazed upon with interest 
as the travellers advanced to Kherson ;■ — none the less so 
from the touching rememhrance, thus awakened, of a 
Christian friend in Petersburgh, Walter Yenning, Esq., 
who, after having been a member of the Prison Discipline 
Society in London, devoted himself to the amelioration of 
the Russian jails, inspecting their condition, and obtain- 
ing the Imperial permission to establish a society for the 
temporal and moral welfare of the prisoners. Early in 
that year he had fallen a victim to fever contracted in 
visiting the wards; but in his dying hours had given 
repeated expression to his sole dependence upon the merits 
of the Redeemer.* 

Crossing the Tauridian steppe, they reached Perecop, 
{S the key of the Crimea," and went onward via Simphe- 
ropol. While awaiting the time fixed for the meeting of 
the Tauridian Bible Society, they took an excursion, that 
was recalled to mind with peculiar force, when, in the 
decline of life, they heard of the sanguinary conflicts 
waged on the very sites which they had once admired in 
the stillness of a peaceful repose. A few paragraphs taken 

* This useful and esteemed Christian was interred in the Smolensky 
cemetery. A public monument was erected to his memory, consisting of 
a "square altar-tomb, surmounted with an irradiated cross." A bas- 
relief represents him entering a prison, with a Bible in his hand, and 
beneath is inscribed in Puss and in English, " I was sick, and ye visited 
me; I was in prison, and ye came unto me." "I heard a voice from 
heaven, saying," etc. On the opposite side is the following inscription 
in Puss : — " The Society of St. Petersburgh for the improvement of 
prisons have raised this monument to the memory of their beloved fellow- 
labourer, Walter Venning, the countryman of Howard, and founder of 
the prison-institutions of this country. He was born in Nov. 1781, and 
died in the Lord Jesus Christ on the 10th of Jan. 1821." The work 
which he had begun was zealously carried on by his brother, the late 
John Yenning, Esq., then resident in St. Petersburgh, and latterly at 
Norwich. 



254 THIRD JOURNEY. 

from Dr. Henderson's volume on Russia,* will be read in 
the present day with many an association that did not 
attach to them at the time when they were printed. 

"The road lay at first up a rude hollow, between the first and 
second ranges of calcareous hills which form the commencement of 
the mountainous region, and brought us, after travelling about 
seventeen versts, to the Alma, a beautiful meandering stream, which 
takes its rise in the vicinity of Tchatirdagh, and here flows through 
a delightful valley full of villages, with vineyards and gardens filled 
with fruit-trees of every description. Its waters were low at the 
time we passed it ; but it often swells to a great size after rain, or 
a considerable thaw in the winter. Crossing another stream, we 
came to an elevated plain, covered with rich vegetation, and about 
five o'clock descried, almost direct before us, an extensive range of 
Tatar houses, with a mosque, and at different distances, stately 
mausoleums, which led us to conclude that we were approaching the 
ancient residence of the Khans ; but, on our arriving at the termi- 
nation of a terrace which rose gently towards the south, and while 
we were steadily looking out for a development of the palace in the 
direction of the group before us, the road all at once turned round 
into a deep valley on the left, where, to our inexpressible surprise, 
the town of Baghtchisarai burst at once upon our view. 

" Driving up the principal street, which is lined on both sides 
with wooden booths or shops, we arrived at the gate of the Khan's 
palace; and having been favoured with a letter of introduction to 
the Governor from Kaia Bey, a Tatar prince descended from one of 
the first families in the Crimea, and now a General in the Russian 
army, we obtained admittance, and had apartments assigned us on 
the right side of the court. Everything around us inspired the 
mind with ideas and feelings altogether novel, and more resembling 
those produced by reading the airy fictions of romance, than any we 
had ever experienced in contemplating the objects of natural or 
artificial reality. The transition was nearly as great as that a per- 
son would be conscious of, could he be transported in a moment from 
any European town, and set down in the midst of Bokhara or 
Samarcand — so completely did every object wear an Asiatic appear- 
ance On the conquest of the Crimea by the Russians, 

orders were given by Government to keep up everything about the 

* " Biblical Researches and Travels in Russia, including a Tour in the 
Crimea." By E. Henderson, D.Ph. London, 8vo, 1826, pp. 538. ' 



INKERMANN. 255 

palace in the same oriental style in which it was left by the Khans ; 
but the effects of time have been irresistibly felt by many parts of it, 
and the impression which the view of the whole leaves upon the 
mind, is that of the departed magnificence of an Asiatic Court. The 
death-like silence and sombre aspect of every surrounding object, is 
perfectly indescribable," — Pages 295, 299. 

The caverns of Inkermann must not be passed by with- 
out notice, though the citation serves to show what was, 
rather than wdiat is. Much of the stone for the construc- 
tion of modern aqueducts and public buildings in the 
vicinity has been obtained by the blowing up of the rocks, 
so that comparatively few of these subterranean resorts 
subsist at the present day. 

" At the end of the bay of Akhtiar, we entered a small river,* in 
which we were completely hid by the high reeds growing on either 

side After rowing to a short distance, we landed on the 

south side, where we found a delightful shade in a grove of trees, 
and after taking some refreshment, proceeded to examine the curious 
excavations in the rocks to the right. 

" Several of these grottos were inaccessible, and must have been 
entered by their inhabitants by means of a long ladder from the 
foot of the rocks. Others we reached without any difficulty, but to 
the most interesting we were conducted by a long winding passage, 
regularly hewn out of the rock. The entrance to this cavern is from 
the east side, and consists of a large aperture, within which is an 
excavated stair, from which, at certain distances, large perforations, 
terminating in darkness, presented themselves ; and at times a 
grotto, cut towards the exterior part of the rock, admitted a few 
rays of light upon our path through the small opening serving for a 
window. After ascending to the height of about 100 feet, we were 
admitted into a fine chamber with apertures or windows facing the 
bay ; and immediately on turning to the right we discovered an ex- 
cavation, the construction of which indubitably proved it to have 
been an ancient chapel. On one of the walls, which are black from 
the smoke of the fires that have been kindled here in later times, we 
observed evident vestiges of an inscription, the letters of which 
appeared to be either Gothic, or Greek uncials ; but their height 

* The Tchornaya-retschka. 



256 THIRD JOURNEY. 

from the floor, and the partial light thrown upon them from the 
window, rendered it impossible for us to determine to which alphabet 
they belonged. 

" It has been conjectured, and not without foundation, that these 
and similar excavations, of which the greatest profusion exists in the 
vicinity, as well as in the other parts of the Crimea, owe their for- 
mation to the Christians who fled hither in the persecutions which 
took place in the earlier ages of the church. According to Procopius 
(de JEdf. III. 7), the Tetraxitic Goths, on being driven from their 
insulated situation on the Bosphorus, took refuge in this quarter ; 
and when the Emperor Justinian proposed to erect castles for their 
protection, they objected to the confinement to which it would sub- 
ject them, and preferred living in the open country, to which they 
gave the name of Dori. Many of the small cells have doubtless 
been appropriated to the austerities of monastic life ; yet may we 
not indulge the hope, that amidst the gross spiritual darkness of 
those ages, of which the gloom of the caverns was only faintly em- 
blematical, the Holy Book not unfrequently lighted up a torch, 
which guided the solitary son of the rock to a blessed immortality ? 
This idea was forcibly impressed upon my mind, by a scene which I 
witnessed on the opposite side of the valley. Here, also, an immense 
number of cavities are found, many of which are still inhabited. 
Being desirous of seeing how they could be appropriated to the 
dwellings of men, I climbed up one of the precipices, and entered a 
chamber about four feet in height, by six in length, and four in breadth, 
in which I found a small couch, and a few articles of wearing apparel 
hanging on the walls. Close to the door, at a small aperture, sat an 
aged Russian, poring over a Slavonic Psalter, and apparently deriving 
much enjoyment from the devotional strains of the sweet singer 
of Israel. As his back was turned, he did not observe me for some 
time, which afforded me an opportunity of marking the fervour 
with which he read the portion of Divine truth that engaged his 
attention. I allowed him to finish the Psalm, and after saluting him, 
asked whether he understood what he had been reading. • Not all,' 
he replied, ' but much of it is plain to me.' He knew there was 
such a book as the Bible, but the Psalms formed the only part of it 
in his possession." — Pages 348 — 351. 

It cannot "be asserted as a fact, but it may fairly be con- 
jectured, that such an incident as the foregoing would be 
narrated with emphasis on returning to Akmetcht, as an 
additional incentive to the establishment of Branch Asso- 



LNKERMANN. 257 

ciations in the Crimea. Its record suffices to demonstrate 
how truly his heart was in his work, and how far he was 
from losing sight of his main object, even while combining 
with it an attentive enquiry into every matter of natural or 
antiquarian interest which his path might cross. 

He then visited " the caverns and ruins situate on the 
north side of the rich but insalubrious valley," and noticed 
especially an excavation, twenty-four feet long by ten or 
twelve in height, in which were clearly visible the elevation 
for a chapel-altar, a cross cut out of the rock, and two 
sarcophagi of Grecian workmanship. After having de- 
scribed Inkermann, he thus resumes : — - 

" The Lord's day we spent at Akhtiar,* in exercises of social and 
private devotion ; and the following morning directed our course 
across the minor peninsula, to the Monastery of St. George. .... 
Immediately below the Monastery, at the depth of eight or nine 
hundred feet, is the shore of the Euxine, to which we descended by 
a winding path, and enjoyed a delightful dip beneath its waters. 
The spot in which we bathed, consisted of a fine compact sand, but 
extended only a few feet in breadth, when it gave way to an in- 
visible profundity. From this low situation, the appearance of the 
coast is romantic in the extreme, and some of the impending and 
half-dislocated rocks — mountainous in size — are truly terrific, and 
may easily be conceived to have contributed in no small degree to 
complete the frightful picture formed in the imagination of the 
ancient Greeks, respecting the inhospitable shores of this peninsula. 
Somewhere in the vicinity of the Monastery, the bloody rites of 
Orsiloche, the Tauric Diana, were celebrated. The walls of her tem- 
ple were hung with the skulls of her victims, and no foreigner who 
had the misfortune to be wrecked on the coast was ever suffered to 
escape her vengeance. 

" From the Greek Metropolitan of Thermopylae, who has travelled 
through almost the whole of Asia, and is now resident in the 
Monastery, we met with a very different reception ; and after some 
refreshment, provided for us by his hospitality, we prosecuted our 

* Sevastopol. The more modern name, though in use at that date, had 
not then come so exclusively into use as at present. (Seymour's Russia, 
P. 63.) ., 

S 



£58 THIRD JOURNEY. 

journey across the hills, behind the Aia Burun, and descended by a 
winding road into the enchanting valley of Balaklava. Here we 
could have fancied ourselves in some part of Greece ; the valley, 
which is extremely fertile and well cultivated, being entirely in- 
habited by Greeks, as is also the town of Balaklava itself, one of the 
most beautiful and interesting places in the Crimea. It is built on 
the east side of the harbour, to which Mela very appropriately gives 
the name of KaAo<? Xi/ulyjv, or the " Beautiful Port," but which was 
most generally known to the ancients by that of ^Ev/ufioXwv Xifitjv, 
Portus Symbohrum, the Harbour of Mutual Consultation. The 
entrance is of great depth, but so extremely narrow as scarcely to 
admit a ship of war between the high precipitous rocks on both 
sides ;* yet the moment she has passed the strait, the harbour opens 
into a large basin of four or five versts in circumference, which, 
being closed in by high mountains, affords an excellent shelter to 
vessels in all weathers. 

" A short way to the south of the town rises a broken mountain, 
the summit and different parts of the sides of which exhibit the ex- 
tensive ruins of a fortification, supposed to be the Hakaiciov of ancient 
geographers. It was taken possession of by the Genoese in the 
fourteenth century, and several stones in the walls still contain the 
arms of their native city," etc. etc. — Pages 352 — 355. 

A visit to the still famous botanic gardens of Nikita, 
and the ascent of the Tchatir-dagh, were the chief events 
which marked the return from the Heracleotic Chersonesus. 
In a Tatar village near the base of the aforesaid " Tent- 
Mountain," was witnessed the strange funeral custom of 
sponsorship for the dead. " Did you die a true Moslem ?" 
is the question which the Mollah addresses to the deceased, 
whose nearest relation makes answer," I died a Moslem," 
— a confession, which is supposed to have an intimate 
connection with the complete felicity or the diminished 
purgatorial sufferings of the departed spirit. 

This eight days' Crimean trip had been rendered doubly 
enjoyable by the society of three endeared friends, the 

* "The narrowness of this strait is particularly noticed by Strabo : 
\ifxr\v <TT€v6aTOfAos. Lib. vii. cap. iv." 



TAGANROG. 259 

Rev. J. J. Carruthers* from Baghtchesarai ; the Rev. W. 
Glen, and the Rev. Dr. Rossf from Astrachan. 

Starting a second time from Akmetcht, or Simpheropol, 
Doctors Paterson and Henderson passed through Kaffa 
(the Theodosia of Strabo), traversed the desolate isthmus 
from Arabat to Jenitchi, and proceeded eastward through 
Mariupol to Taganrog. Here Dr. Henderson was seized 
with an ague which clung to him with pertinacity through- 
out the remainder of his journey, and from which he did 
not entirely recover for many months after his return to 
St. Petersburgh. Mental anxiety, in consequence of a 
pending change in his plans, had no doubt much to do, if 
not with the origin, yet with the perpetuation of his ill- 
ness. Dr. Paterson's narrative, while it reveals the fre- 
quent uneasiness he felt on his friend's account, implies 
also the tenderly watchful care with which he filled the 
twofold office of physician and nurse ; and shows, moreover, 
to what a state of weakness the patient must have been 
reduced, when at Ananur, on the homeward way through 
Georgia, it was feared that he would never rally, and it 
became the only question where a suitable burying-place 
was to be found. But the hand of " Jehovah Rophim " was 
outstretched in mercy, and the violence of the attack sub- 
sided. These visitations of illness were not without their 
attendant fruit. Hence, on one occasion, he could write 
home :— 

* Mr. Carruthers, whom my father had already known in St. Peters- 
burgh, he afterwards met again at Gosport, when each of them had be- 
come successor to Dr. Bogue ; the one in the pastorate, the other in the 
tutorship. 

f Afterwards of Kidderminster, and now of Sydney. " We were much 
pleased with Dr. Ross," they write; "his unfeigned piety, missionary 
zeal, prudence, and suavity of manners, endeared him to us, and must 
endear him to all with whom he has anything to do." (Christian Herald, 
New Series, vol. ii. (1823), p. 27. % ) 



260 THIRD JOURNEY. 

" How kind has the Lord been to me during my affliction. He 
has made my bed in my sickness, and I humbly trust has made it of 
everlasting benefit to my soul. During the many sleepless nights I 
have had, and the days of extreme debility during which I have 
lain on my hard couch, I have had very different opportunities of 
reflection and silent meditation than I ever could command for the 
period of sixteen years, the greater part of which has been spent in 
an almost uninterrupted intercourse with men. I do hope that our 
heavenly Father has been trying me in this furnace, that I may 
come forth purged from dross, and more fit for the Master's use." 

There were intervals when the travellers could pursue 
their way in tolerable comfort ; and hoping at the outset 
that it was a merely temporary ailment, they had never 
thought for a moment of relinquishing their further journey. 
Crossing the Don they entered Asia, visited their old ac- 
quaintance the Rev. Cornelius Rahmn* in his new home at 
Sarepta : and on August 13th, reached the long-dreamed- 
of, long-looked-for Astrachan, where a great part of Dr. 
Henderson's furniture and library were awaiting his per- 
manent residence. Laid up by an access of his com- 
plaint, he felt the comfort of being at the Mission 
House, and of being tended with all the care that 

* Mr. Rahmn, a Swede, had become known to them, when, as deputy- 
chaplain to one of His Swedish Majesty's Artillery Regiments, he was 
stationed at Gottenburgh. His heart had long been set on missionary- 
work, and he had earnestly wished to co-operate with British Christians. 
When invited to join Mr. Stallybrass in the Irkutsk mission, he readily 
gave up an advantageous situation which he had in prospect, and has- 
tened to the open field of usefulness. The climate proving too keen for 
his wife, he was obliged to retire, and found his next station (as above) 
among the Calmuc Tatars on the banks of the Volga. After leaving 
Sarepta, in consequence of an Imperial interdict on direct missionary 
effort, he laboured for a brief season among the Swedes in Petersburgh ; 
but his work was looked on with a jealous eye, and it was withal a narrow 
sphere. Making his way to England, he found useful employment for ten 
years as a clerk, in the London Missionary Society's Foreign Department ; 
while, at Stepney, he filled the office of Deacon, having been elected to 
that post in 1829. About the year 1837, he returned to his native land, 
where, by the last accounts received, he was again labouring in the 
ministry of the gospel. 



ASTRACHAN. 261 

the missionaries and their wives could bestow. Messrs. 
Mitchell and Dickson, agents of the Scottish Missionary 
Society, were no strangers. Mr. Glen and Dr. Hoss 
were still absent, but their families were there. Such 
were the kindness, harmony, and piety, which reigned 
among them, that he longed more than ever to be located 
in their midst. " We are inmates," he wrote, " with Mr 
Mitchell, my good old friend and diligent correspondent, 
but whom I had not seen for upwards of sixteen years. 
Mr. Dickson is a complete counterpart to your husband, — 
a real book-worm. We could not be better matched." 
There was much and earnest conference among these 
devoted men as to the best spheres of labour and the most 
expedient modes of operation. They were of one heart 
and mind in the great object they sought ; and they were 
of one accord as to the likeliest modes of its accomplishment. 
The Scottish Mission had another station at Karass, 
which indeed had been the parent of the one at Astrachan.* 
It was needful to visit that place also, and to enquire into 
the translation work that was being done, or needing to be 
done, in behalf of the surrounding Tatars. Messrs. Alex- 
ander Paterson, Jack, and Galloway, were the missionaries 
at that time settled in the colony. The arrival of the 
visitors was a matter of interest alike to the Scotch and 
German residents. To the latter, Dr. Henderson preached 
twice in their own language. The one sermon was on the 



* The Karass mission was undertaken in 1802, when two agents were 
sent out, Mr. Brunton, and his brother-in-law Mr. Alexander Paterson, 
the former of whom lived to complete the translation of the New Testa- 
ment into the Tatar-Turkish dialect. Five more were sent out in 1803, 
and their ranks having been thinned by death, four others arrived in 1805. 
Sultan Katte Gherei, descended from the Eoyal family of Baghtchesarai, 
was among the earlier converts. In 1815, branch-missions were established 
at Astrachan and at Orenburg. 



262 THIRD JOURNEY. 

first clause of Matt. vi. 10, " Dein Reich komme ;" and the 
other on Jer. viii. 20, " Die Ernte ist vergangen," etc. 

A week was spent among the Cabardians, and other 
Circassian tribes in the neighbourhood ; after which the 
road was retraced as far as Mozdok, where a lodging was 
obtained in the house of the Jesuits. The hospitable Pater 
Henry was found to be less of a bigot than his comrade. 
The objects which the Bible-agents had in view did not 
gain special favour beneath such a roof; but as long as they 
kept to uncontroverted topics, they could hold pleasant and 
edifying intercourse. The following extract from a letter 
gives a proof in point : — 

" It is an old, but a very ingenious observation which the Jesuit 
Pater quoted the other day in Latin, that ' in the Bible, creation is 
represented as the work of God's fingers ; redemption, as that of His 
arm? What an energy is necessary in order to save the soul from 
death, and emancipate it from the chains of sin ! Let us rejoice. Our 
Saviour is the Lord God Omnipotent. Nothing is too hard for Him." 

On the 1st of October, they joined a Caucasian caravan, 
and had to regulate their halting and their progress by 
military rule. Sabbath- travelling became in this instance 
a matter of necessity, but the character of the day was not 
forgotten. An interval of rest towards noon-tide was con- 
scientiously improved, not as a superstitious observance, 
but as a heart-loved privilege : — 

" We here enjoyed a sweet season among the long grass at a little 
distance from the noisy crowd. I read 1 John iii., which then 
formed the subject of our conversation. Straight before us lay an 
extensive valley, bounded on the opposite side by the second range 
of mountains, — the richest soil and vegetation, but all waste ! How 
diiferent it will look, when ' God, even our own God, shall bless us,' 
as His people, and stir us up to make His way known upon earth ; 
' then shall the earth yield her increase? Between twelve and one, 
at the beating of the drum, we repaired again to our company, and 
set forward on our journey." 



NAZRAN. 263 

At Nazran they visited the Rev. Mr. Blythe, who has 
given a brief history of the Inguish mission, in the first 
five-and-thirty pages of his " Reminiscences of Missionary 
Life." He alludes (page 29) to the gratification he received 
from their visit ; to the reception which he gave them, " a 
homely though a hearty one ;" and to their being satisfied 
" to seek repose upon a temporary bed of hay." Mr. Blythe 
had so completely won the favour and confidence of this 
mountain-tribe, that he was at all times able to go among 
the people without an escort, and unarmed. His visitors 
would have been glad to do the same, but the commandant 
of the fort declared, that being answerable for their safety, 
he durst not allow them to run the risk. It is matter of 
doubt whether, under the protection of a missionary known 
and loved, they would not have been safer than with their 
escort of Cossacks. The military array may have helped 
to excite the unfriendly demonstrations which at one time 
threatened to be serious, and which their Ossetinian inter- 
preter had some difficulty in quelling by his assurance of 
their peaceable intentions. 

The Caucasian mountains were at length crossed, the 
majestic snow-clad heights of Elburz and of Kasbek putting 
far into the shade even the remembrance of what now 
seemed the comparatively dwarfish Yokuls in the North. 
The capital of Georgia was reached in safety, but Tiflis 
was unexpectedly to prove the limit of their wanderings. 

The journey into Persia had to be abandoned by them, 
in consequence of the step they now felt called on to take 
in dissolving their connection with the British and Foreign 
Bible Society. Gladly would this subject be passed over 
in silence. It is a matter entirely of the past. The differ- 
ence of opinion was not permanent. The wound was sub- 
sequently healed. In the past, nevertheless, it stands out 



264 THIRD JOURNEY. 

an irrevocable fact : and to ignore it would be to give a 
false impression. Had the affair been merely of private 
concernment, it would have been easy, as it would have 
been proper, to leave the veil undrawn ; but as a thing 
which had publicity in its day, it would be unjust, as well 
as unwise, to pass it over without a word. 

The Turkish New Testament, which had been published 
at an earlier date, and had met with commendation from 
Prof. Norberg of Lund, had recently been superseded in 
favour of Ali Bey's version. Albertus Bobovius (more 
commonly known as Ali Bey), was a Pole by birth, 
the Sultan's interpreter by office, and a Mohammedan by 
profession, though supposed to have been a Christian in 
creed. The MS. translation which he had prepared, existed 
in safe keeping at Leyden, and was strongly recommended 
for the Society's adoption, as preferable to the one already 
in use. Baron Von Diez of Berlin, who is said to have 
studied the language for thirty years, and to have been as 
familiar with it as with his mother-tongue, commenced its 
revision, and although he detected infelicitous expressions 
here and there, he went so far as to express the opinion 
that the translator had certainly " enjoyed peculiar assist- 
ance from above.' 5 Dr. Henderson, when writing from 
Berlin in 1816, could report the progress of the revision : 
" This work engages his [Privy Councillor Von Diez's] 
whole attention, and proves the joy and solace of his heart."* 
In April, 1817, the aged Baron died, when not much more 
than about four books of the Pentateuch had passed beneath 
his eye. To Professor Kieffer of Paris, the remainder of 
the work was entrusted, and in all doubtful matters he was 
to confer with the Oriental scholar, Baron Silvestre de 

* Appendix to 13th Annual Report of the British and Foreign Bible 
Society, p. 295. 



TURKISH TESTAMENT. 265 

Sacy. Everything had been done, in a literary point of 
view, to secure the accuracy of the work. 

On the publication of the Testament in 1819, Dr. 
Henderson was rejoiced to commence its study, and anti- 
cipated no small pleasure from its perusal. But he was 
startled to discover the freedom with which the sacred 
oracles had been interlarded with oriental epithets and 
human additions. Still more shocked was he to observe 
such expressions as involved serious doctrinal error touch- 
ing the Saviour's divinity, and the righteousness which is 
of faith. At first he was disposed to doubt his own 
acquaintance with the language ; but the more he studied, 
and the more he consulted authorities, the more plainly he 
saw that this version was not worthy of the noble Christian 
Society under whose auspices it had appeared. He sent 
home a written statement on the subject, and seconded his 
remonstrance by forwarding, as a sample, the result at- 
tained by a careful analysis of one gospel, one epistle, and 
the Apocalypse. 

Had his assertions met with implicit reliance, there can 
be no doubt that immediate steps would have been taken 
to suppress the faulty edition. But there were counter- 
influences at work. There were voices which whispered 
that he was a novice in the language. Names of note 
were arrayed against him. He was far away ; — others, in 
whose opinion a large amount of confidence was placed, 
were nearer at hand. It can be no great matter of surprise, 
that the good men who formed the Committee of that day 
should have been led to regard the alarm as needless, or at 
least as exaggerated. They did not willingly or know- 
ingly tamper with error; but they were unconvinced of 
its full extent. They consented to reproduce in an 
amended form one portion, which contained an acknow- 



266 THIRD JOURNEY. 

ledged and glaring mistake; they resolved to subjoin a 
list containing certain errata ; they charged Professor 
Kieffer carefully to expurgate all objectionable phrases 
that might exist in Ali Bey's Old Testament, with which 
he was then occupied. But neither the Astrachan mission- 
aries, nor the two Bible agents in Russia, deemed this 
enough. It did not meet the entire exigencies of the case. 
" If the Old Testament was thus acknowledged to need 
purifying, could it be fit that the New Testament should 
be circulated without an equally thorough revision, when 
the errors in question were of moment and of magnitude ?" 
Thus they reasoned on the matter. They foresaw that if 
one such version were admitted, it would not stand alone, 
but would tend to pave the way for others of a like, if not 
of a worse character. The Tatar-Turkish, the Persic, 
and kindred translations were in prospect, or in progress ; 
and on what principles were these to be conducted ? The 
whole question of Scripture-translating seemed to be more 
or less at issue ; and several minor arrangements, made 
at this crisis, served to indicate still more clearly the 
absolute necessity of making a stand. 

To Dr. Paterson, no less than to Dr. Henderson, it 
appeared imperative that they should simultaneously 
retire from the office they had held. " Show that you do 
not identify the Society with the Bible," was one of the 
" Monita Biblica" afterwards left on record by its honoured 
Secretary, the Rev. Joseph Hughes. It was by such a 
principle that the two friends were now guided. They 
felt that theirs was a painful, but indispensable duty — a 
duty to which they were called for the truth's sake. " We 
were acting," wrote Dr. Henderson to his brother-in-law,* 

* The Rev. Thomas Kennion, M.A,, for many years Perpetual Curate 
of High Harrogate. 



TURKISH TESTAMENT. 267 

" in the most direct opposition to all the partialities of our ' 
hearts : hut, circumstanced as we were, we had no alterna- 
tive." They were disappointed in having to turn their 
back on Persia, where they had longed to " track the foot- 
steps of the revered Martyn." But this was their smallest 
sacrifice. They were risking the loss of friendships that 
were highly prized. They were giving up an engagement 
which they loved. And they had no prospect for the 
future, save that of returning home to seek employment 
there, and perhaps of finding this the more difficult to 
obtain, by reason of the very step which had driven them 
to the quest of it. Yet they saw only one course which 
could be pursued consistently with the views they held, 
and conducively to the great interest which it was their 
study to promote. It has been alleged that they had 
private as well as public grounds for complaint ; and they 
have not denied the assertion. But their personal grievances 
they never dragged into the light, nor would it become 
any one else needlessly to do so. These were things com- 
paratively trivial, and which might easily have been made 
the subject of friendly understanding and arrangement. 
It was when they had reason, or thought they had reason, 
to consider the interests of the Society seriously endangered, 
that they determined on the only step whereby they could 
prove the earnestness and depth of their convictions. 
This step may have appeared to the public a hasty one. 
It was not so on the part of those who took it. They had 
long known what was likely to ensue. They had had 
ample time to deliberate. They had counted the cost ; 
and when the time for decision was come, they had no 
occasion for suspense, and they did not affect a hesitancy 
which they saw no cause to feel. 

A long letter of resignation having been penned and 



268 THIRD JOURNEY. 

forwarded, it behoved them to stay their southward progress, 
and to commence their journey home despite the approach- 
ing rigours of the winter. Recrossing the Caucasus, 
revisiting Astrachan, and ordering the goods which had 
arrived with a view to residence there to be repacked and 
sent back to St. Petersburgh, the travellers pressed on 
with utmost speed; and early in February, 1822, they 
found themselves again amid the noble streets and glitter- 
ing domes of the Imperial city. 

The Committee of the Russian Bible Society were 
informed of what had transpired. Their confidence was 
in no wise shaken. On the contrary, knowing from expe- 
rience the capability and the diligence which had charac- 
terized these devoted labourers, and unwilling to lose 
services which were deemed so valuable to the cause, they 
immediately resolved to retain Dr. Paterson in their 
employ, who had already been partially engaged in their 
behalf, and to secure Dr. Henderson's help as an accredited 
agent of their institution. The latter might well give 
thanks that the lines had thus unexpectedly fallen to him 
in pleasant places. He accepted an appointment so con- 
genial with his heart's desire and delight ; and the work 
of former years was eagerly resumed. 

Nothing would have been easier or pleasanter than to 
sit quietly beneath his vine and his fig-tree. But he did 
not feel that this would be right. He was too full of love 
for his native land, for his Christian brethren, and for the 
kingdom of his Lord, to admit of his taking his ease at the 
expense of truth and righteousness. Finding that the 
evil which had led to his resignation was still in the main 
unremedied, and calling to mind the inspired maxim, 
" Faithful are the wounds of a friend," he saw no resource 
but that of drawing public attention to what he deemed a 



TURKISH TESTAMENT. 269 

point of vital importance. In one respect it was highly 
desirable to do so. The Committee were in a delicate 
position as the stewards of public money. Five thousand 
copies had been printed. As long as the case admitted of 
conflicting testimony, they could not but hesitate about 
altogether cancelling what it had cost so large a sum to 
publish. They necessarily felt a strong disposition to 
hearken readily to such as approved the version, and justi- 
fied its issue. If the constituents, however, could be 
brought to feel that it were better a sacrifice should be 
made, then the pressure from without would no longer 
be in the wrong direction. Dr. Henderson accordingly 
prepared a pamphlet on the subject by way of ee Appeal."* 
It was published in 1824, the press being corrected by a 
friend in England. The title-page had for motto, " Qui 
tacet, consentire videtur." The preface vindicated his 
undiminished attachment to the constitution and funda- 
mental principles of the Society ; and when he was forced 
to express his opinion very plainly, he endeavoured to do 
it with all kindness. To have written less strongly would 
have been to defeat his own end, and to fail of doing battle 
for the right. To have written more warmly would have 
been easy, but would not have been Christian. If he 
remembered the saying, " II y a des cas ou toute la charite 
est dans la verite," he does not seem to have been un- 
mindful of another no less true, t( II vaut mieux taire une 
verite que de la dire de mauvaise grace." In a private 
letter, he says in reference to it, " May what I have already 



* " An Appeal to the members of the British and Foreign Bible Society 
on the subject of the Turkish New Testament printed at Paris in 1819, 
containing a view of its history, an exposure of its errors, and palpable 
proofs of the necessity of its suppression." By Ebenezer Henderson, etc. 
London, 1824 (pp. 70). 



270 THIRD JOURNEY. 

written be found to be worthy of that charity which 
(av^x a ^p 6t ) rejoiceth with the truth." 

The Appeal^ however, was not understood by all in the 
spirit in which it was designed ; and a public controversy 
was the result. Dr. Lee replied in a pamphlet published 
in the course of that same year.* In 1825, the author 
sent forth a second treatise on the subject,f which in 1826 
was met by another rejoinder from Prof. Lee. J Polemic 
writings are usually an unpleasant study ; and still more 
so, after a discussion of merely temporary interest has 
worn itself out, or done its appointed work. The longer 
a pamphlet-war is maintained, the more apt it is to 
engender needless personalities and uncharitable recrimi- 
nations. Dr. Henderson liked not the position either of 
assailant or assailed ; and when there was no further 
need to prolong the contest, he was glad to lay down 
weapons so distasteful to a peace-loving spirit. He had 
argued, in his second publication, that the high Oriental 
scholars of France, whose opinions in overwhelming number 
had been brought against him, could scarcely be expected 
to regard the question in any other than a literary point 
of view, whereas the theological bearing of the expressions 



* "Remarks on Dr. Henderson's Appeal to the Bible Society, on the 
subject of the Turkish version of the New Testament printed at Paris in 
1819 ; to which is added an Appendix containing certain documents on 
the character of that version." By the Rev. S. Lee, A.M., D.D., etc. 
Cambridge, 1824 (pp. 159, and Appendix 44). 

f "The Turkish New Testament incapable of defence, and the true 
principles of Biblical Translation vindicated ; in answer to Prof. Lee's 
* Remarks on Dr. Henderson's Appeal to the Bible Society on the subject 
of the Turkish New Testament printed at Paris in 1819.' By the author 
of the Appeal." London, 1825 (pp. 306). 

X " Some Additional Remarks on Dr. Henderson's Appeal, etc. ; to 
which is added an Appendix noticing the statements of certain Reviewers 
on the same subject." By the Rev. S. Lee, A.M., D.D., etc. Cam- 
bridge, 1826 (pp. 143) . 



TURKISH TESTAMENT. 271 

in debate was of the utmost consequence, and called for 
the nicest discrimination. His reasoning was not lost 
upon men who were truly anxious to know and to do 
what was meetest and best. It was finally determined 
that the entire New Testament should be revised, and all 
the objectionable terms expunged. This result attained, 
he had no public ground for keeping up the controversy, 
and he was therefore satisfied to leave his opponent the 
last word, although the pencil-notes he has made on the 
margin of Dr. Lee's "Additional Remarks" prove that he 
could have found matter for reply, had he been so minded. 
The Turkish Bible, completed in 1828, was such as 
could receive his cordial attestation. His letter is given 
in the twenty-fourth Annual Report : — 

Mission College, Hoxton, April 26, 1828. 

" In compliance with your request, it gives me pleasure to furnish 
you with a statement respecting the result of my examination of the 
sheets of the Turkish Bible, which have been forwarded to me for 
this purpose. 

" 1. The passages to which I objected, as rendered in a manner 
calculated to teach doctrines opposed to the general tenor of Scrip- 
ture on some important and fundamental points of Christian belief, 
have been altered so as to bring them into accordance with the 
same passages in other generally received versions. 

" 2. Those renderings w r hich gave a Mohammedan colouring to 
the version, have been exchanged for such as express the meaning of 
the original in a way that excludes all extraneous or accessory ideas. 

" 3. The high-sounding and bombastic epithets given by Ali Bey 
to the Deity, and such combinations as ' His Majesty Jesus,' ' Lady 
Mary,' 'Lord Abraham,' etc., have all been expunged; and the 
general style of the version has been reduced to those forms of sober 
simplicity by which the diction of sacred Scripture is so strikingly 
characterized. 

" 4. As far as I have been able to give attention to the work as a 
whole, I am happy in being able to state that I consider its distribu- 
tion entitled to the cordial and unqualified support of all who are 
desirous ' that the word of the Lord may have free course and be 
glorified.' 



212 THIRD JOURNEY. 

" Having drawn the attention of the public to the state of this 
version, as exhibited in the New Testament published at Paris in 
1819, 1 cannot but feel anxious that they should be put in possession 
of explicit information relative to the corrections that have been 
introduced into it, and thus have the means of satisfying themselves 
that every ground of objection from this quarter against the opera- 
tions of the Society is now entirely removed. This I conceive would 
be most effectually done by the insertion of this communication in 
the Appendix to your next Report. 

" I earnestly beseech Almighty God to crown with His effectual 
blessing the labours of an Institution, in the service of which I spent 
many happy years of my life, and which I shall still rejoice to aid 
to the utmost of my power." 

Perhaps it is not too much, to say that the cause of 
Bible-translation, in general, was eventually benefited by 
what had thus taken place. It is not to literary hands 
alone that this responsible task has in later days been 
entrusted. The advice and supervision of the scholar have 
not been despised, but at the same time the pen of the 
missionary has been mainly employed, or his verdict in- 
variably heeded. The linguist and the theologian have 
united their efforts, to the intent that every version may 
be, so far as the skill of man can make it, a fitting and 
faithful transcript of God's most holy word. 

If the tree was shaken, it was by no unfriendly hand, 
and with no prejudicial results. Confidence was mutually 
restored, and it remained unshaken for ever after. It 
will yet remain to be shown that the labourer was always 
ready to plead the cause and in other ways to further the 
interests of the Society, while the Society also was willing 
again and again to bespeak his advocacy and his aid. A 
foolish but happily fruitless experiment was made, it may 
have been some six or seven years ago, to resuscitate the 
Ali Bey controversy ; but the ill-judged attempt perished, 
as well it might, of mere inanity. There was nothing to 
bring forward but the shade of a defunct evil; and the 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 213 

public were too enlightened to regard the spectral appari- 
tion with the slightest dread. The lines, which it has 
been needful here to trace, are not designed to evoke it 
yet again, but rather to affix a seal upon the place of its 
entombment, and impress on it the signet-motto, " Stand 
fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the 
faith of the gospel." 

A brief survey must now be taken of such occupations 
and occurrences as marked the last three years of Dr. 
Henderson's life in Russia. The following copy of a trans- 
lated letter from Hi£ Excellency Prince Galitzin shows the 
urgency of his call, and the nature of his service : — ■ 

" My dear Sir, — Agreeably to the duty devolving upon me in 
the office which I sustain of President of the Russian Bible Society, 
to endeavour by every assistance in my power to strengthen its 
operations, it appears to me that to employ in Biblical work such 
persons as are capable of promoting it, and to acquire by earnest 
persuasion the essential and indispensable aid of every man that is 
intimately acquainted with the Sacred Writings, are among the most 
powerful means of effecting this object. Under the full conviction, 
resulting from frequent experience, that every qualification for the 
work of God is the gift of the Lord, and discovers itself in an actual 
decided preference for that work, I therefore do not in the least 
hesitate to employ those men in Biblical service, who give evidence, 
by the disposition of their minds, that they are manifestly qualified 
for it. 

" Upon these principles, in consideration of the many important 
services you have rendered to the cause of the Bible Society gene- 
rally, the experience you have acquired in it, and your extensive 
knowledge of the Eastern languages, more especially of those which 
compose the original text of the Sacred Scriptures, I behold in you, 
my dear Sir, a man called of the Lord to co-operate in multiplying 
the saving knowledge of the word of God among your fellow-crea- 
tures. You are aware that for Russia, on account of its peculiar 
situation, and the diversified tribes by whom it is inhabited, it is 
indispensably necessary to prepare and circulate the Bible in dif- 
ferent languages and dialects, and among others in such as are of 
Oriental origin. The Jews, in consequence of their vast numbers 
in the Empire, and for other still more important reasons, have at 

T 



274 THIRD JOURNEY. 

this time attracted the attention of the Bible Society. A devout 
individual of that nation, who is zealously addicted to the perusal 
of Divine Revelation, and is also convinced of the truth of the New 
Testament, impelled by irresistible ardour, has undertaken for the 
spiritual benefit of his brethren to translate the New Testament into 
the Hebrew dialect of the ancient Scriptures. This zealous indi- 
vidual, notwithstanding all his qualifications for the work, his pro- 
found knowledge of the ancient Hebrew, and minute acquaintance 
with the books of Scripture, is not able to accomplish such a trans- 
lation alone, on account of his not being versed in the original 
Greek text. It is therefore necessary that he have some person to 
help him in this respect. Only one individual has been found to 
assist in this work, who, although he is well skilled in the Hebrew, 
and acquainted with the authentic text of the original, has not time, 
amidst his other numerous avocations, to co-operate constantly in it, 
in such a manner as that the translation may not be interrupted. 
Accordingly the Lord of the word has sent you hither at this time 
for the prosecution of this translation of the New Testament, in the 
best and most uninterrupted manner, into the language intelligible 
to the posterity of ancient Israel according to the flesh. You have 
already commenced this work, and the translator finds your assist- 
ance indispensable. The providence of the Lord has removed you 
from every other vocation, worldly and spiritual ; and, at the same 
time, has endowed you with talents which are never given but with 
an express design to be usefully employed. Here is an important 
and obvious appointment of Heaven respecting you, deserving of 
your observation ! Can you refuse compliance with this intimation, 
which ought to be regarded as sacred ? In directing your attention 
to this object, I call upon you to consecrate your time and labours, 
your talents and strength, to Bible Society work, and in a particular 
manner to co-operate at present with the zealous translator of the 
New Testament into the Hebrew tongue. If, by means of this 
translation, a way may be opened for that nation, now bewildered 
in the darkness of ignorance, to the knowledge of the One good Shep- 
herd, who laid down His life for the sheep, — to the discovery of the 
path that leads to Him, — to the acceptance and participation of His 
grace, — can you willingly place an impediment in the way, by re- 
fusing the co-operation required of you ? It is not a man who lays 
this obligation upon you ; it is the Lord the Saviour, who does it by 
means of dark dispensations which will be made plain in the world 
above. Besides, you may always be useful to the Russian Bible 
Society by superintending editions of the Scriptures in the different 
Eastern or Asiatic languages, for which your acquirements qualify 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 275 

you, and in which it is utterly impossible for Mr. Paterson to take 
part, owing- to his numerous avocations of a different kind. ' Where- 
fore there are diversities of gifts, and differences of administration, but 
the same Spirit ; and there are diversities of operation, but the same 
God, who worketh all in all : but the manifestation of the Spirit is 
given to every man to profit withal !' On which account the Apostle 
Paul also says concerning himself: ' Though I preach the gospel, I 
have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me ; yea, woe is 
unto me, if I preach not the gospel.' 

" Anything more urgent than this, I cannot possibly say to you, 
and therefore I do not attempt it. To one who has devoted himself 
to the service of the Lord, these representations will be sufficient, 
and your own heart will immediately be in unison with the object 
here proposed to you. There appears to be no one thing to prevent 
your accepting this proposition, and I shall expect your answer to 
it. According to the nature of your determination I shall judge ; 
but He who sees our hearts, calls each one to the service that is 
best adapted for him, and expects from us a faithful discharge of the 
same. 

(Signed) " President of the Russian Bible Society, 

" Prince Alexander Galitzin. 
" St. Petershurgh, May 17, 1822." 

The Hebrew Testament was diligently revised, many 
an earnest conference held with the Austrian Jew, and 
occasional appeal made to the Metropolitan alluded to in 
the above letter, as one eminently qualified, though little 
at leisure, to assist in the enterprise. 

Dr. Paterson's visit to England in 1823 left the whole 
amount of the Bible House affairs to rest for awhile on his 
companion, who superintended them "with the greatest 
judgment, zeal, and activity, and in such a conciliatory 
spirit that not a complaint or murmur was to be heard 
from any quarter."* A letter printed in the " Christian 
Herald " for January, 1824, states that the auxiliaries were 
all manifesting increased zeal ; that through the exertions 
of His Grace the Archbishop of Kazan, an extensive distri- 

* Book for every Land, p. 377. 



276 THIRD JOURNEY. 

bution of the Scriptures had been made in the Tschu- 
vashian, Mordovian [Mordvinian ?], and Tcheremissian 
languages ; that the priests had been enjoined to urge the 
diligent reading of the Holy Volume; that above an hun- 
dred individuals out of the idolatrous tribes in that district 
had embraced the Christian faith ; that in several of the 
Trans-Caucasian schools, had been introduced the custom 
of reading a chapter in class before entering on the lessons 
of the day ; that the Hebrew New Testament was rapidly 
nearing its completion; that the Votiak and Permian 
translations were progressing slowly, but very satisfactorily, 
every possible means being used to test their scrupulous 
accuracy ; that the Slavonic Bible had reached a fifteenth 
edition, the Slavonic-and-Russ Testament a sixth, and the 
modern Puss Testament a second; that scarcely a day 
passed, when applications were not made for a copy of the 
latter; and that the soldiers in the barracks, instead of 
clustering around the card-table as of old, were to be seen 
gathered here and there in companies of eight or ten, 
while one among the number read in the hearing of an 
attentive group some portion of the word of life. 

The Ethiopic was the language to which Dr. Henderson 
particularly addicted himself at this time. Among his 
papers, and dated April, 1823, is a neatly-executed colla- 
tion of St. John's Gospel in the Ethiopic, as preserved in 
manuscript in the Public Imperial Library. His standard 
of comparison was the Ethiopic of the London Polyglott, 
and each instance of a various reading appears to be noted 
down in its order. 

It could not have been long after this, that he was pri- 
vately requested to examine a document written in cha- 
racters which baffled the Russian literati then in the 
capital, but to the decypherer of which a reward would be 



CRONSTADT. 277 

ensured. On scrutinizing it, lie found that the letters 
were Ethiopic. He succeeded in ascertaining the sense, 
and in furnishing a translation. He forwarded his manu- 
script through the appointed channel. Not the slightest 
token was afforded in acknowledgment of its having been 
received. A friend made private enquiry. The paper was 
said to have been mislaid. After a further interval, a re- 
newed appeal elicited the report that it was lost. The fact 
of its never reaching its destination may have been the 
consequence of his not stooping to accompany it with what 
the Frenchman calls a douceur, but what the Englishman 
designates a bribe. It was believed, however, by some who 
w r ell knew the spirit of certain officials, that the document 
had been withheld through jealousy that a foreigner had 
been able to interpret what to the native sages had re- 
mained a dark enigma. To fathom the truth in this case 
would have been a vain as well as a rash attempt. It 
might have involved consequences which it was not safe 
to risk. 

As Mr. Knill was acceptably and usefully occupying the 
chapel-pulpit, Dr. Henderson turned his attention to the 
English sailors at Cronstadt, and began to preach there 
regularly beneath the Bethel flag. On the Saturday he 
went out, and returned by the Monday's boat. At the 
close of the first season he wrote in this strain : — 

" My Cronstadt labours go on prosperously. I had a pleasing 
letter the other day from a Captain at Elsineur, stating that he had 
perceived a very sensible improvement in his crew since they began 
to attend the sermon, that he had not heard an oath since leaving 
port, but they had prayers frequently, and they had asked him twice 
to read the Bible to them. Now, my dear sister, this is pleasing so 
far as it goes. My object is to exhibit the Saviour as the only De- 
liverer of a shipwrecked world. I cannot describe to you the plea- 
sure I derive from this Cronstadt work. Then Hebrew, and Turkish, 
and Ethiopic, — all is forgotten— and Christ and precious souls are 



278 THIRD JOURNEY. 

all in all. Pray earnestly for me, and for the outpouring of the 
saving influences of the Holy Spirit, without which all -will remain 
in darkness, disease, and death." 

In the spring of 1824, he resumed his labours. He 
gives the following brief notice of his return to this sphere 
of usefulness : — 

" On Sabbath morning I could not find the flag. I rowed round 
the whole Mole, and was on the point of giving it up, when I dis- 
covered it. There was no wind to unfurl it ; so that it was not seen. 
I found all my friends gone, but new ones arrived. The Captain of 
the Friendship, on board of which I preached, is a pious man, a 
member of the Independent church at Sunderland. His mate and 
men were super-excellent singers, and attentive hearers. The con- 
gregations from 80 to 100, which, considering it was Peterhoff day, 
and so many gone, was more than could well have been expected." 

It is interesting to know that when the object of his 
weekly visits had been ascertained, Mr. Baird, the proprie- 
tor of the steam- vessel, generously gave him his passage 
free of expense. There remain the written outlines of only 
two sermons manifestly composed for his marine congrega- 
tion. The one was on the text, " Thou wilt cast all their 
sins into the depths of the sea." The other, simple and 
practical, was characteristic no less of the Bible Agent 
than of the Seaman* s Friend. 

" Acts xiii. 26. 

" ' To you is the word of this salvation sent.' ■ 

" When we reflect on our character by nature as sinners, rebels, 
enemies to God, what kind of message had we reason to expect from 
God ? A message of wrath, of condemnation, etc. Instance, the 
shepherds at Bethlehem — the jailor — your own experience — in 
sickness ; danger ; storm, hurricane, when every moment a watery 
grave threatened to devour you, — have you not felt apprehensions of 
wrath? But God sends a message of salvation. 

"I. The nature of the salvation here spoken of. Salvation means 
deliverance, — the bringing a person out of dangerous or miserable 



CRONSTADT. £79 

circumstances, and placing him in a situation of happiness and safety. 
Countries have been saved by the wisdom of their rulers. Cities 
delivered from the besieging enemy. Individuals saved from perils 
by land and water. Paul, Acts xxvii. — -Yourselves, many a time. 
Others delivered from poverty. Others from sickness. But all these 
are temporal deliverances : they relate merely to the body — the shell 
— the outward — the earthly part of man. The salvation to which 
your attention is now called, as far exceeds in value and importance 
any of these temporal deliverances, as the soul excels the body, and 
eternity exceeds time. It is the salvation of lost souls. Consider it 
(1) in its origin. Man could not have devised it — nor angel — but God 
alone. (2.) Its achievement. Christ's incarnation — obedience — death. 
(3.) Its application. The work of grace begun in the soul, gradually 
maintained and carried on by Divine power, till completed in glory. 

"II. The word of this salvation. (1.) It is a faithful word — the 
word of God — to be relied on, as the word of truth. (2.) A powerful 
word — the word of Him who said, ' Let there be light.' (3.) A life- 
giving word — the word of life — that quickens the soul dead in tres- 
passes and sins. This word is a written word, and a preached word. 
Churches — congregations — : also arks for seamen. In this form it 
comes to you now. This evening it is preached to you, But sermons 
are only the words of fallible men. The word of salvation is infallibly 
contained in a book — the Bible — a book none should be without. 
None need be without a copy. You can have one in this very port. 
There is provision made that seamen of every land may here find 
God's word in their own language. Procure one immediately, if you 
have it not in your possession. Do any say, ' I cannot read?' This 
is to be lamented. But, remember, it is not too late to learn. 
People of eighty years of age have learned for the express purpose. 
Let not another day pass before you have begun. Your comrades 
will teach you, and soon you will be able to read the word of salva- 
tion for yourselves. 

" III. To whom this word is sent. It is for all, since all stand in 
need of it. It is for you, — whoever you are — whether you have 
heard of it often, or now for the first time — whatever your country, 
age, condition, character. 

" IV. For what purpose it is sent. That it may be received — that 
the salvation may become ours. Have you received it ? Are you in 
a state of salvation ? How do you know whether you are saved or 
not ? Receive — believe — and live." 

The interest which he thus felt in the seafarer was long 
cherished, and after his return to England — especially soon 



280 THIRD JOURNEY. 

after his return — lie was often employed in advocating their 
cause on the platform or from the pulpit. For the British 
and Foreign Seamen's Friend Society and Bethel Union, 
he preached on the words, " I will set his hand also in the 
sea, and his right hand in the rivers ;" adverting in this 
discourse to the nature and exercise of Christ's mediatorial 
rule in general, and to the extension of that rule over the 
maritime world in particular, — not only over the dwellers 
in peninsulas and islands, hut over those also who " go 
down to the sea in ships, and do business in great waters," 
— the sailors that navigate the mighty ocean, and the water- 
men, lightermen, and bargemen, who are found on our rivers 
and canals. The number of men thus employed was shown 
to be an argument for effort; and their importance was 
treated as a second ground for interesting ourselves in their 
behalf, seeing that they are the importers of our luxuries ; 
that without them the gospel itself would never have been 
brought into Britain ; that without them our Missionaries 
could never be sent forth to the heathen ; that without them 
our country's defence would be incomplete. The closing 
appeal in behalf of the funds invited the hearers in nautical 
phrase to " bring up their lee-way/' to calculate how many 
years they had neglected the cause, and to give as those 
who felt the debt they owed. 

Dr. Henderson's work at Cronstadt was looked on by 
some with jealous eyes. " Forbid him," said they, " for he 
followeth not with us." Complaint was made that these ser- 
vices discouraged the attendance of the mariners at church. 
It was an unfounded allegation. Had they been willing 
to attend service on shore, they would have been left to do 
so. But the greater part were accustomed to spend the 
day in idleness, and in the vices which idleness promotes ; 
while, to every expostulation in reference to their neglect of 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 281 

worship, they had the ready answer, " We're not fit to 
enter your fine churches ; if we'd sermon on deck some- 
where, we'd most of us come." Disregarding the cause of 
the movement, the opposing party made their representa- 
tion at Court. But the Emperor would not give ear. He 
knew the motive which had led to the benevolent under- 
taking; perhaps he knew also the motive which influenced 
its gainsayers ; and the affair was not one in which he 
thought it needful to interfere. 

What the enemy could not effect in one direction, he 
sought to accomplish in another. The Emperor was more 
assailable through the dignitaries of his own church, than 
through the partisans of a foreign creed. There were some 
few Greek ecclesiastics, who, wrought upon by their own 
fears and by the insinuations of the Jesuits, longed for the 
downfall of the Russian Bible Society. They were watch- 
ing for a handle against it, for they saw that it was doing a 
work which could not be suffered to proceed. They knew 
that it was likely to be with many as it was with an old 
man, whose case had attracted recent notice. Having 
purchased a copy of the Bible in the Slavonic, but being 
unable to peruse it for himself, he requested his grandson 
to read him a portion on returning home from school. 
« What part shall I read ?" asked the youth. " Well," 
replied the sire, "I have heard there are some fine passages 
in the book of Isaiah ; let us have one of them." The 
book was brought; the desired pages were found; the 
forty-fourth chapter was commenced, and the reader, in a 
clear distinct voice, gave utterance to the prophet's elo- 
quent satire on the vanity of idols and the folly of their 
worshippers. The hoary -headed Russian was amazed ; the 
force of truth overmastered the strength of prejudice; rising 
from his seat, he tore down from the walls those visible 



THIRD JOURNEY. 

objects of worship before which he had been used to bow 
in adoration. The deed was noised abroad. The holy 
Synod judged it incumbent on them to take notice of the 
act, and sentenced the offender to a heavy punishment. 
Their verdict had, however, to be ratified by the Emperor, 
and whilst the document was being transmitted for the re- 
ceiving of the Imperial signature, it passed through the hand 
of an official, who, remembering a Ukase of Peter the Great 
concerning the treatment of such as destroyed sacred pictures, 
copied it, and slipped it among the papers which the Czar 
would have to examine. Peter's enactment provided that for 
the first offence of the sort, a man should be sent for eight 
days to a monastery; that, for the second offence, he should 
be sent there for a fortnight, and be taught his catechism by 
a priest; but for a third offence, "nothing more !" he was 
to be given up as incorrigible ! In this instance, the sub- 
ordination of the Synod to the Emperor proved available 
for good. Alexander observed the paper ; and, glad to have 
so fair a pretext for leaning to mercy's side, he wrote 
beneath the sentence of that "holy" council a decree to 
the following effect : " Let it be done according to (such and 
such) "Ukase of our illustrious Ancestor Peter the Great. 
So be it. Alexander." Such leniency in such a cause had 
its twofold effect on the priests. It showed them, on the 
one hand, the need of action, and on the other the need of 
caution. They must gain their end, but they must move 
warily. Where they could not lay open siege, they must 
endeavour to undermine. 

The customary system of espionage was brought into 
requisition for the purpose. Every attempt was made to 
entrap the agents of the Bible House into the utterance of 
some sentiment which might bring them within the power 
of political law. Dr. Henderson was more than once sub- 



ST. PETERSBURGH, 283 

jected to this ordeal; and had he not been on his guard, 
might easily have committed himself. One scheme was 
very deeply laid. A stranger called to entreat as a great 
favour the loan of a rare and valuable book, which was said 
to be in his possession, but which was not to be met with 
in any of the book-shops in the city, nor even in the Public 
Imperial Library. Any amount of security should be laid 
down in case of its being obligingly lent. Dr. Henderson 
named a very high sum, which he thought would suffice to 
close the treaty at once, if the man were not thoroughly in 
earnest. To his surprise it was instantly forthcoming, and 
the borrower went his way with the first volume. In a 
fortnight's time, he returned to exchange it for the second; 
and on this visit he began to launch out against the govern- 
ment of the country, as affording but little encouragement 
to learning or to learned men. The foreigner was doubtless 
expected to chime in, and to contrast the despotic restric- 
tions of the Russian press with the freedom allowed to 
writers in happier lands ; but no response was made, save 
by a word or two on the general advantages of literature 
and its onward movement in all countries. A third visit 
was paid to crave an extension of the loan ; and when the 
further interval was accorded, a fresh attempt was made to 
elicit confidence. The corruption prevailing in public offices 
was pathetically decried, and stories of political oppression 
were breathed forth. It was hard to restrain the expression 
of sympathy, for the tale might be a true one. But it was 
necessary to do so, for the story was just as likely to be 
false. The listener responded only with interrogatories 
and exclamations: " Was it so ?" " Could he be sure ?" etc. 
Coming back once more to bring home the volume and 
redeem his pledge, the visitor adverted to the gross super- 
stition of the people, their Mariolatry, and their saint- 



284 THIRD JOURNEY. 

worship. But artfully as he disguised his real object, and 
naturally as he appeared to introduce his topics of com- 
plaint, he was again baffled. Dr. Henderson was not one 
to speak evil of dignities at any time or in any place ; and 
he was, moreover, well aware that whatever he might 
think or know of existent evils, one syllable uttered against 
the religion or the state-craft of the Empire, might be 
reported, magnified, and followed by arrest and imprison- 
ment. 

That such fears were not exaggerated, was matter of 
frequent proof. Among the stated attendants at the 

English chapel, was Mr. H , a Swede engaged in the 

Censor's office. He was a pious man, and learned, was a 
great antiquary, and possessed an excellent museum of 
natural curiosities. His studies were particularly directed 
to the department of Entomology, and his collection of 
insects was of no mean order. In the prosecution of his 
official duties he was usually prudent and discerning. 
Suddenly the good man was missed. He was enquired 
for, but no one knew what had become of him. Weeks 
passed, and he returned not ; nor could his anxious fellow- 
worshippers find a clue to guide them in their search. At 
length there came a slip of paper, addressed to John 
Yenning, Esq. It was dated from the " State-fortress," 
and it contained only these words— " I am well, and have 
my Bible : God be praised." These brief sentences spoke 
volumes of comfort, while yet they furnished ample ground 
for alarm. It was cheering to read this concise embodi- 
ment of heavenly peace and holy gratitude. It was sad 
to think of a Christian gentleman thus clothed in a felon!s 
garb, and placed in one of those cells where, at any moment, 
by Imperial mandate, the waters of the Neva might be 
secretly and suddenly let in, and the judicial murder 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 285 

remain for ever unknown. There was no help hut in 
prayer. United supplications were offered, and the ma- 
chinations of the adversary were restrained. After an in- 
carceration of some two or three months, the captive was 
suffered to go free. It then transpired, that he had allowed 
the censorial imprimatur to sanction a book containing a 
paragraph condemnatory of the worship of the Virgin. 
Whether he had let this pass designedly, or had overlooked 
it, he was never known to say. Had it been the former, 
he would not have dared to avow it. With health and 
spirits impaired, he resolved to quit the land of despotism, 
and retired to end his days on his native soil. The digres- 
sion has been a long one, but it was needful in order to 
bring to view the atmosphere of peril, in the midst of which 
the friends of truth had to move from day to day. 

When it was found that nothing could be extorted by 
the spy-system, there remained other steps to be taken. 
On a pretended suspicion, papers might be seized and ex- 
amined. It was whispered that this was about to be done. 
During Dr. Henderson's absence one Sabbath at Cronstadt, 
his friend called at his home in the Pochdovaya Oulitsa 
(Post-Office Street). "I am afraid," he said, "that you 
may be visited by the police, while your husband is away; 
it has been given out that we are political agents, and our 
correspondence is likely to be searched ; I would gladly 
remain with you, but of course my first duty is at home : 
you need fear nothing ; you have only to give them free 
access to all the papers ; they will find nothing to inculpate 
us ; and they will not molest you, unless you throw hin- 
drances in their way/' It was no pleasant prospect. The 
dreaded visit, however, was not paid that night. Another 
day passed, and the domiciliary invasion had not been 
made. Still it was daily, hourly expected ; and the next 



THIRD JOURNEY. 

Saturday Dr. Henderson judged it prudent to remain at 
St. Petersburgh. He was glad that he had done so. The 
Sabbath evening arrived. The services of the day were 
over. Mr. Knill's text and sermon were being made the 
theme of conversation, and a Commentary was being taken 
from the shelf to elucidate some point of interest, when 
suddenly a troop of horsemen was heard approaching. 
There was a halt at the gateway. Dr. Henderson rose 
hastily. " Do not be alarmed/' he said in his usual calm 
unruffled tone, "but they are come at last." Beneath the 
window were seen a dozen mounted dragoons in full uni- 
form, ranged in a semi-circle with their horses' heads 
toward the house, as if to intercept the flight of those 
within. There was an anxious listening for the footfall of 
such as were to mount the stair, and for the ring of the 
bell that was to demand admission to the upper flat. Five 
minutes passed ; five more succeeded ; and then the sol- 
diers, wheeling round, departed from the house, but not 
without a prisoner. The blow had fallen elsewhere. On 
the ground-story lived a shop-keeper, who, for the offence 
of having left his door-lamp unlit a quarter of an hour 
behind the time prescribed by law, was carried off to en- 
dure a fortnight's imprisonment, and then to buy his 
liberation by the payment of an hundred roubles, or about 
four guineas English. The friends of the Bible Society 
had once again escaped in peace, and after a while the 
rumours of the intended search were no more heard. 

The calm may have been owing only to the secret laying 
of that mine which was to do a surer and more effectual 
injury. The Emperor was known to be a timid man, and 
his advisers determined to work upon his fears. They 
told him of revolutions in secret progress ; they reminded 
him of his father's tragic end ; they warned him to beware 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 287 

in whom lie trusted ; they ascribed a revolt in one of the 
regiments to the spread of the Bible among the soldiery ; 
they procured the dismissal of Prince Galitzin from his 
office as "Ministre des Cultes" as well as from his Presi- 
dentship of the Bible Society. 

Dr. Paterson's Autobiography has traced out the rami- 
fications of the plot, naming Metternich, Arakcheyef, 
Seraphim, and Photi, as the prime agents in originating 
and executing it* The great Austrian diplomatist was 
one who knew how to gain unbounded influence, and how 
to make it subserve whatever end he had in view. The 
Count was a man, whose position in the government en- 
abled him to carry all before him, and whose hatred of the 
Bible Society was quite consistent with the antipathy he 
uniformly evinced against everything that tended to en- 
noble the minds and elevate the ideas of the multitude. 
The Metropolitan was one who could profess a warm 
attachment to the Society so long as he saw that in such 
adherence lay the high road to a coveted promotion, but 
who, when the summit of his ambition was attained, could 
lay aside his mask, and throw his interest into the opposite 
scale. The Archimandrite, — one, who as Confessor to a 
Russian Countess, could bid her put of! her shoes from off 
her feet, because the place whereon he stood was holy 
ground, and could mock her penitential disquietude by 
telling her that till she learned to live on mushroom-skins 
she could never hope to attain perfection, — was likely 
enough to be the enemy of that blessed volume which 
points the repentant sinner to the cross of Christ, and 
comforts him with the words, Believe and live. 

It may be interesting to give an extract from Dr. Hen- 

* Compare Schnitzler's " Secret History," vol. i. p. 52, and pp. 382—398. 



288 THIRD JOURNEY. 

derson's work on Russia, in order to show the view which 
he took of the agencies that were at work. It was 
carefully worded, as the actors were yet on the scene of 
political life : — 

" It is not unknown to the reading world, that previous to the 
institution of the Bible Society in St. Petersburgh, the Jesuits had 
made such progress in imbuing the minds of Russian youths, and 
other members of the orthodox church, with strong predilections in 
favour of the dogmas of Kome, as necessarily to excite the attention 
of government, and lead to a closer and more unremitting inspection 
of their proceedings. It was not, however, till they had succeeded 
in corrupting the principles of a young nobleman of distinguished 
rank, and framed a system of intrigue against the Bible Society, 
that measures were taken to expel them from the empire.* Possess- 
ing a magnificent college in the Sadovii Street, close to the house 
presented by his Majesty to the Society, they were so chagrined at 
the mark of Imperial favour displayed in that gift, that they became 
quite clamorous in their opposition to its principles and proceedings; 
in consequence of which, and their other delinquencies, an ukase was 
issued, similar in its effects to that of Darius the king (Ezra vi. 6, 7). 
In less than two hours after their college had been surrounded in 
the dead of night by the gens d'armes, their papers were secured ; 
and being wrapped in sheep-skin shubes,f which had been provided 
for them, and placed in the sledges in waiting at the door, they were 
speedily conducted over the frontiers. 

" Conceiving these measures as originating with, or at least power- 
fully supported by His Excellency Prince Galitzin, then Minister for 

* The expulsion of the Jesuits from the college took place in 1816 ; 
that of the Jesuits throughout the country in 1820. It is not difficult to 
understand that they could still have their agencies at work, though 
themselves were personally banished. 

f This must not be inferred by the English reader to have been a mark 
of special favour. It was a provision enacted in behalf of every exiled 
criminal, and necessitated by the rigour of the climate. It is true that 
the underlings who had to administer the sentence of the law too often 
neglected this merciful ordainment, and pocketed the price of the shube, 
— one of the crying evils which was perseveringly withstood by Mr. John 
Venning, who, by permission from the Emperor, made a point of being 
present when the Siberian exiles were sent off, seeing that they were 
duly equipped for their dreary journey, and placing in their hands a copy 
of the New Testament. 



ST. PETERSBURG H. 289 

Ecclesiastical Affairs and Public Instruction, the Jesuits formed designs 
of the most deadly hatred against that worthy nobleman, and left no 
method untried by which they might lower him in the opinion of 
his Imperial Majesty, and precipitate him from those stations of 
high official trust, which he had so long and so honourably filled. 
As the President and most cordial supporter of the Bible Society, 
he became the object of their insidious attacks. Failing in their 
attempts to make any powerful impression on the minds of the 
Russian clergy, who, in proportion as they are versed in the writings 
of the Greek Fathers, must perceive the incongruity of any opposi- 
tion being made to the reading of the Scriptures by the laity, on 
the part of those who profess so unbounded a reverence for these 
writings, the proscribed sect resolved to try what might be effected 
by political intrigue. The revolutionary spirit which had appeared 
in some countries of Europe, and the desire so strongly expressed 
in others of having certain ancient institutions re-modelled to suit 
the exigencies of modern times, appeared, to their minds, to furnish 
a powerful handle by which to gain their object. They now set 
every engine at work to impress the public mind, and especially 
those in power, with the belief, that between the members of the 
Bible Society and the Carbonari of Italy, the Burschenschaft of 
Germany, and the English Radicals, there existed a real and sys- 
tematic connection. While their emissaries were secretly active in 
conducting the wheels of the machine, by which numbers of the 
students were deluded throughout Protestant Germany, they were 
unremitting in their attempts to corrupt the public vehicles of in- 
formation, introducing inuendoes into the statements given of popular 
movements, and harping on the tendency of Protestantism and 
Bible Societies to foment divisions, and produce civil and religious 
discontent. Nor did they stop here. By their agents in Russia, 
with which country they still maintain a powerful though covert 
alliance, and especially through the instrumentality of certain lead- 
ing politicians at the Conferences of Laybach and Verona, they did 
everything in their power to lodge in the mind of Alexander a con- 
viction that Bible Societies are politically dangerous ; that the 
reading of the Scriptures by the laity cannot fail to disseminate 
revolutionary principles ; and that the real though concealed object 
of their members and abettors, is the dismemberment of organized 
society. 

" The mind of the august Monarch was too enlightened, and he 
was too well acquainted with the distinguished individuals in his 
own empire who had established and were carrying on the opera- 
tions of the Society under his own public sanction, to believe that 

U 



290 THIRD JOURNEY. 

there could be any real ground for such accusations. But as the 
Jesuits ultimately succeeded in forming a strong party in the Russian 
metropolis to re-echo their criminations, it was deemed politic that 
the object of their inveterate enmity should resign those high posts 
in which he stood peculiarly exposed to the shafts of their malice. 
The institution, by this measure, lost its noble and indefatigable 
President."* 

It was not the Prince alone who had to resign his office. 
His Excellency, Mr. Papoff, the Society's Secretary, was 
indited before a criminal court for encouraging the publica- 
tion of a German commentary, which was deemed hetero- 
dox ; and this measure involved his removal from official 
connection with the Bible House. 

Pastor Gossner, the successor of Lindel, and the author 
of the above-named Exposition, was virtually sent out of 
the country. Long had this zealous and awakening 
preacher, once the curate and pupil (as afterwards the 
biographer) of Martin Boos, been freed from the error- 
chains of Popery, though he had not as yet thrown off 
the outward badge of servitude to Rome. When asked 
why he still adhered to a communion which he no longer 
approved, he was wont to reply, " Because I compassionate 
the destitute state of those in whose church I have been 
nurtured, and am anxious to preach to them the pure, 
simple, unadulterated gospel of the grace of God, whereas 
if I were to own myself a Protestant, not one of them 
would ever come to hear me." When asked how he could 
sanction the Popish ceremonies by kneeling at the tinkle 
of a bell before an altar which in heart he had forsworn, 
he made answer, " While I kneel there, I take no note of 
the mummery that is going on around; I am wrestling 
with God for a blessing on the word that I am about to 

* Biblical Researches, p. 131, etc. 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 291 

proclaim to the multitude." There will be a difference of 
opinion as to the validity of his reasoning, the soundness 
of his policy, the propriety of his conduct. It was not a 
course in which he finally persevered. But it is certain 
that his conscience did not then condemn him in the thing 
which he allowed; — certain, also, that the end which he 
had in view was very fully attained. For the space of 
four years, crowds thronged to listen to his piercing words, 
and numbers went home to weep and pray.* But at 
length went forth the edict which was to drive the 
preacher beyond the Russian frontiers. Dr. Henderson 
longed to testify his sympathy with the persecuted man of 
God. Spies were abroad, and there was danger lest evil 
should ensue. The risk was weighed ; Christian love 
turned the scale. The preacher's apartments were in a 
suite on an upper floor. In the ante-room sat a number 
of Germans, rich and poor, waiting for a last interview 
with the pastor so dear to their hearts. " What shall we 
do," asked one, " when he is gone ? who w T ill show us the 
way of life ?" " Thank God," replied another, " that ever 
we did see and hear him ! Think what would have become 
of us if no one had made known to us a free salvation 
through the blood of the Lamb !" Thus they wept and 
talked, and mourned and sympathized, till each in turn 
was summoned to the inner room to receive parting words 
of benediction and counsel. It was not long before Dr. 
Henderson was admitted, and had the mournful satisfac- 
tion of assuring his friend that he should often bear him 
in remembrance at the throne of grace. The worthy 
preacher shortly took his departure ; and after having 
reached Prussia openly embraced Protestantism, obtained 

* See, for one example of his usefulness, " The Swedish Nursemaid," 
(Religious Tract Society, No. 881.) 



292 THIRD JOURNEY. 

a charge at Berlin, and was enabled to minister the gospel 
with continued fervour, acceptance, and success. 

Not in Petersburgh alone were the emissaries of evil at 
work. The Sarepta Missionaries were given to under- 
stand that they must make no attempt to teach the 
Calmucs, but must leave their Christian instruction wholly 
to the Greek ecclesiastics. The Missionaries at Astrachan, 
Karass, and Nazran were either ordered away from their 
stations, or placed under such restrictions as made them 
see the fruitlessness of remaining at their post. 

There was an interval, in the autumn of 1824, when 
every thought was temporarily engrossed by the calami- 
tous flood Avhich deluged the metropolis. Numerous have 
been the descriptions of its fury and its ravages ; but as 
no two minds regard an event precisely in the same aspect, 
it may be well to give the account which was furnished 
by Dr. Henderson : — 

Si. Petersburgh, Nov. 11, 1824. 

" Last Friday morning,* the very day of the month on which, 
according to a celebrated German chronologist, 4172 years ago, the 
fountains of the great deep were broken up, the inhabitants of 
this city and the vicinity were visited with one of the most awful 
inundations that have happened in modern times. With a tremen- 
dous westerly gale, the water in the gulph was propelled in this 
direction, and filled the Neva to such a degree, that about ten o'clock 
in the morning the streets began to exhibit a sad scene of terror 
and dismay ; the water increasing every moment, and leaving no 
time for those who lived, or had shops, on the ground floor of the 
houses in many parts of the town, to save any part of their pro- 
perty. For about an hour, the street in which we live was passable 
with carriages, but about half-past eleven all intercourse ceased, a 
deathlike silence ensued, and as the water still continued to rise 
with great rapidity till two o'clock, you may conceive the consterna- 
tion and dismay which it spread among the aggregated householders, 

* Nov. 19th, according to the Gregorian calendar. Dr. Henderson, 
when in Russia, conformed to the custom of the country, and followed 
the Julian reckoning. 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 293 

who could take no measures whatever for their further safety, but 
(most of them ignorant of the Noachic covenant) filled with awful 
forebodings, awaited the close of all. In many places the water 
attained the height of six and seven feet ; but at the time just men- 
tioned it began to subside, and by evening a communication was 
again opened up between the different parts of the city. But, next 
morning — what a scene ! To whatever side you turned, nothing 
presented itself to the view but an almost universal wreck. The 
boats and lighters that were on the Neva dashed in pieces against 
the quay — the immense blocks of granite which form a barrier 
against the river, literally, in many places, laid upon their sides — 
stone walls borne down, trees torn up by the roots, and bridges 
carried away in every direction. Yet this was but a prelude of 
still more melancholy disasters. During the following days, every 
successive hour has brought dismal tidings of the numbers of dead 
bodies found in the vicinity, and along the coasts. They amount to 
several thousands, but the number is not yet fully ascertained ; 
whole villages have been swept away, and the inhabitants have 
been seen on the tops of the houses, clinging for a while to their 
swimming habitations, till the billows overturned their refuge, and 
buried them in the deep. The losses in a commercial point of view 
are incalculable. Oh that men would learn righteousness from this 
awful display of the hand of the Almighty ! Our little chapel has 
been inundated, so that we had no service last Lord's day ; but hope 
soon to be able to re-assemble in the enjoyment of our privileges. It 
is not a little remarkable that good Mr. Rahmn, who preached in 
his own hired lodging to his countrymen the Swedes, expected a 
formal interruption on the evening of the flood ; but the enemies of 
the cause of God were prevented from approaching his abode. 

" Since writing the above, I have visited the site of a large village 
about three miles from the city ; not a vestige remains, and all the 
intervening space is covered with, what may be said to be in minia- 
ture the wreck of a world. I need not be more particular, as you 
will read detailed accounts in the newspapers. Only I must not 
omit that our loss at the Bible House has been very considerable, 
amounting at least to 60,000 rubles." * 

The loss which the writer himself sustained, he does 
not seem to have mentioned, though to a student hardly 
any could be greater than that of precious manuscripts 
and papers. Personal troubles he could not but forget, 

* Christian Herald, New Series, vol. iv. (1825), p. 72. 



294 THIRD JOURNEY. 

where so much public suffering was entailed. Nay, he 
esteemed it a cause of unutterable thankfulness to find, 
on the day ensuing, that a sack of flour on his premises 
was available to supply the families of friends and neigh- 
bours with the gift of that loaf of bread which the riches 
of the wealthy were inadequate to command. What 
public charity could do for the poor, was done promptly 
and energetically. Fifty thousand destitute sufferers had 
to be provided with a temporary home. The nobility came 
forward with a benevolence commensurate with their 
means. Large halls were thrown open for the houseless. 
Committees were formed, and funds collected, to provide 
for the starving. All who had a mite to throw into the 
general coffer advanced their contribution, with a sense of 
thankfulness that there was aught left in their power 
to give. 

A momentary hope was entertained that this humbling 
lesson of human impotence might have a salutary effect. 
Men^ the highest in rank, had trembled before the laying 
bare of the Almighty arm. Men in the loftiest position 
had stood and wept, feeling their inability to hush the 
wind or stay the wave. There was a possibility that the 
voice of the rod might be heard, and that the blandish- 
ments of evil counsellors might cease to work on the 
Imperial mind their paralyzing spell. The hope was fal- 
lacious. As there are some who can wrest even the Scrip- 
tures, so there are some who can misinterpret a providence. 
The fact of a judicial visitation was granted ; " but," it was 
suggested, " why has the judgment come ? is it not because 
we have been heedless as to the interests of the faith com- 
mitted to us by. our forefathers?" The measures of the 
Anti-Bible-men became only the more skilfully concerted, 
and the more adroitly executed. 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 295 

In the mean while, the friends of the Society, though 
they saw it withering and drooping, quietly watched to 
see whether there might not after all be a turn of the tide. 
The Emperor's favour was not professedly withdrawn ; and, 
at any moment, if he had but the resolution to shake off 
those who were goading him on to the performance of 
actions that were distasteful to him, the current of pros- 
perity might again flow in, the well-nigh stranded ark of 
mercy might once more be set afloat to glide forth on its 
sacred mission, and convey to the many millions of that 
vast Empire its precious freight of holy, heaven-sent 
words. Yet it was no less true, on the contrary, that at 
any moment the ascendancy of those advisers might be- 
come more complete, and the hand of despotic power be 
put forth to dismast the vessel, if not shiver it to atoms. 
" We cannot tell," wrote Dr. Henderson, " what a day 
may bring forth. Let us only be diligent in improving 
the passing moments. The Lord will provide. The future 
is His." 

Winter came, and went. Spring had fairly seated her- 
self on her grassy throne. Nature smiled around. But 
there was no revival of the good work, no sprouting forth 
of new and vigorous hopes. What little change could be 
discerned, was an alteration for the worse. The Society's 
operations had become so limited, that there was little or 
nothing to do, and no prospect of more to be done. The 
new President, the Metropolitan Seraphim, ventured to 
speak in open Committee of the dangers attendant on the 
distribution of the Scriptures among the laity. There were 
some, Count Lieven among the number, who boldly with- 
stood him. But it was manifest that their resistance would 
eventually be overruled. The omen for the future was 
unmistakable. 



296 THIRD JOURNEY. 

And now it was again, as it had formerly been in Den- 
mark. The brother-labourers were being warned away 
from their post, they were being called to another sphere ; 
but not together did they arise and depart. Dr. Henderson, 
always loath to inactivity, was once more the first to recog- 
nise the intimation, and to strike his tent in obedience to 
the gently and all-but-imperceptibly moving cloud. Dr. 
Paterson, Avith his wonted caution, still tarried, through a 
fear of acting rashly, but was again convinced that in the 
end he too must move. In the spring of 1825, the former 
decided on making the necessary application for Imperial 
permission to resign his office. Prince Galitzin undertook 
to obtain it for him, if time permitted. The Czar was on 
the point of commencing a journey. The Prince had an 
appointment to be with him on the evening that preceded 
his departure. There were many subjects of important 
business, on which instructions had to be given and re- 
ceived. It was far on in the night, or rather morning, be- 
fore the conference closed ; yet on rising to withdraw from 
His Majesty's presence, the Prince ventured to tarry a 
moment, and to plead that leave might be given for Dr. 
Henderson to sail with his family for his native land. The 
boon was graciously accorded ; and the hour, when it was 
granted, was always remembered with interest as signally 
illustrating the words, " He giveth his beloved while they 
are sleeping."* 

No time was lost in making every arrangement for the 
homeward voyage. Driven back by storms, delayed by 
calms, the brig was seven weeks on her passage. The 
voyagers were all but lost, when during a fearful hurri- 



* Thus Luther: " Seinen Freunden giebt er es schlafend." "In the 
night," says Hengstenberg, " the blessing comes they know not how." ' 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 297 

cane the top-mast touched the waves, and the captain him- 
self owned that the vessel had been within a hair's-breadth 
of capsizing. By the good hand of a preserving Provi- 
dence, the faithful servant, who had an allotted work yet 
to do, was rescued from this imminent peril; and on 
July 5th, 1825, he and his were safely landed in the 
British metropolis. 

Before that year had run its course, the cry of lamenta- 
tion, "Notre ange est au ciel," resounded through the 
length and breadth of Russia. The Emperor Alexander 
had breathed his last at Taganrog. The conspiracy and 
revolt which attended the accession of Nicholas, as well 
as the many other political matters which occupied the 
thoughts of the new Czar, left the Bible affairs in abeyance 
through another winter and spring. It seemed a token 
for good that no positive measures were taken to dissolve 
the Society. Dr. Henderson, in the preface to his work on 
Russia, gave expression to his rising hopes : — 

" The author has only to add, that recent information amply con- 
firms his anticipations relative to the speedy emergence of the Rus- 
sian Bible Society from that obscurity which, for a time, has brooded 
over its existence ; the most rigid scrutiny in regard to the con- 
spirators having proved that not one individual who took any part 
in the affairs of that Institution was in any way implicated in the 
late plot against the Government. 

" May He by whom kings reign and princes decree justice, in- 
cline the heart of the Emperor Nicholas to promote the interests 
of that ' kingdom ' which ' is not of this world,' by removing the 
obstacles that prevent the free circulation of the word of God, by 
which alone, in the hand of the Divine Spirit, it is set up, main- 
tained, and governed in the hearts of men ! And may the happy 
period speedily arrive, when no region, people, or tongue, within 
the widely extended boundaries of Russia, shall remain destitute of 
this life-giving word."* 

* Biblical Researches. Preface, pp. vi. vii. 



298 THIRD JOURNEY. 

The anticipation was not yet to be realized, — the prayer 
not thus to be answered. A fortnight before that aspira- 
tion was penned, and that confidence expressed, a measure 
had been carried out, which, if known to the writer, would 
have called forth from him a far different strain. On 
April 12th, 1826, the first blow was struck, when all 
operations at the Bible House were suspended, except the 
sale of copies already in the depot. On August 15th, 
shortly after Dr. Paterson's departure from the scene of 
his closed labours, an Ukase was issued which placed the 
entire management of the Bible circulation in the hands 
of the Holy Synod. The ultimate result was such as would 
naturally follow. Ere long there was an embargo laid on 
the distribution of the Scriptures to Russian subjects. To 
foreigners the depot still remained accessible, and a " Pro- 
testant Bible Society " was tolerated ; but the Slavonic 
Scriptures could be obtained only from or through the 
Synod, while Bibles and Testaments in the vernacular 
might neither be given nor vended. Such continued to 
be the position of affairs throughout the reign of Nicholas. 
What little was done among the natives was either effected 
by stealth, or by the exporting of copies which could be 
sold to those Russians who should overstep the frontiers of 
the Empire. For the most part, it was only while a 
stranger in a strange land that the subject of the Czar was 
likely to retain such a volume as his property ; for let him 
once set foot on his native soil, and let the prohibited book 
meet the douanier's eye, it was instantly seized as an illicit 
article. The colportage which for a time was carried on 
in the Southern governments has recently been interdicted, 
as a means of sale over which the surveillance cannot be 
so sure and strict as over the agency of the regular book- 
seller. 



ST, PETERSBTJRRH. 299 

A modern traveller has given a mournful picture of the 
state of things at Sarepta in 1856 : — 

"Between the ceiling* and the roof of the church is a large 
garret, which we entered, -and found in it piles of books, printed 
in strange characters. The undisturbed dust of years lay upon them. 
What were they, and why in such a place ? They were translations 
of the Holy Scriptures in the Kalmuc-Tartar language,* which had 
been taken there by some good Moravians, who, throwing aside all 
thoughts of self, prayed by night, and laboured by day, to kindle in 
the souls of that benighted race a spark of the heavenly fire which 
dwelt within themselves. The icy storms of winter did not check 
their exertions ; and the burning rays of the summer sun only gave 
fresh vigour to the Divine impulses of their hearts, full of generous 
aspirations, of fervid sentiments, and an exalted love, caught from 
their Maker, to be thrown around these wandering children, who 
possessed neither a fixed home on this earth, nor a fixed hope of 
future rest. But a hostile priesthood watched the pure work with 
the blighting eyes of jealousy. Fearing the germ would quicken, 
and the young plant burst through the warm soil, while the fruit 
would escape their eager grasp, they appealed to the man whose will 
was law. His fiat went forth and stopped at once those noble efforts 
to rescue a people from the withering blast and chilly clutch of 
paganism."! 

After the accession of Alexander II., it was rumoured in 
some of our religious newspapers, that he had re-established 
the Society, with a large donation, and the promise of a 
handsome annual subscription. But this proved to be a 
false report, founded on a misunderstanding,- whereby the 
deed of the uncle was ascribed to the nephew. It only re- 
mains to be hoped that the day may come, when the second 
Alexander shall emulate the Christian graces and religious 
benevolence of the Imperial relative whose name he bears, 

* The remainder, it is to be supposed, of those which have been already 
referred to, as printed in St. Petersburgh, where they were translated by 
Mr. Schmidt, the Moravian minister of that city, and thence forwarded to 
Mr. Rahmn and his brother-missionaries in the South for circulation. 

f Scott's "Baltic, Black Sea, and Crimea." 



300 _ THIRD JOURNEY. 

and that the house of Romanoff may yet be linked with 
Russia's highest and best prosperity. 

The point which has now been reached in the biography 
marks the termination of the actual co-working of the two 
friends and fellow-labourers. Henceforth they were to 
fill separate spheres, and to follow a divergent track, though 
still they were to " walk after the same pattern, and mind 
the same thing." Dr. Paterson, by nine years the senior, 
was the one whose staid character and sound judgment, 
whose experience and discrimination, whose coolness in 
deliberation yet determinateness in action, rendered him 
an invaluable guide and model to his younger friend. 
The latter never forgot to look up for counsel and assist- 
ance. In his letters he often signed himself ' ' Your brother 
and owep^os" yet he wrote as much like a son to a father, 
as like a friend to his companion. Some extracts may here 
be gathered together as memorial-notices of the sympa- 
thizing interest which the younger friend could manifest 
in the success of labours wherein he had taken no share, 
and the modesty, affection, and hopefulness, with which 
he could drop a word or two, now of encouragement, and 
now of congratulation : — 

" Dec. 28, 1812. I was favoured with yours of the 4th inst., and 
rejoice to learn of your prospects of success. May 6 avgaviov Oeos 
abundantly crown your labours with His blessing. In all proba- 
bility you will get on before me ; nevertheless I hope to follow 
you, although at some little distance. Everybody is so timid at 
present, that nothing can be brought to a bearing. The Lord, whose 
cause it is my supreme wish to promote, may soon make way for its 
progress. Let us only believe, and we shall again see the manifesta- 
tion of the arm of Jehovah. . . . The Lord is doing wonderful things 
upon earth. Let us be confident in Him, distrustful of ourselves." 

"March 26, 1813. The first sentence of your letter of the 23rd 
February will just suit me : 'I had given up all hopes of hearing 
from you, when yesterday,' etc. The more detailed account of the 
infant Society I read with the deepest interest, and cannot but 



ST. PETERSBURG!!. 301 

entertain the most sanguine expectations that the Lord intends to 

effect something glorious in that part of the world ' He 

giveth the word, and great is the company of them that publish it.' 
There is something magnificently grand in the idea that so many 
have combined their talents, opportunities, and efforts, in the work 
of propagating the truth ; that men of different nations, different 
ranks, different confessions, different manners and customs, are cor- 
dially uniting and giving each other the right hand of fellowship 
with a view to the advancement of the interests of truth ; and 
that they so unanimously adopt those measures which, from the 
simplicity and efficiency of their nature, bid the fairest for the attain- 
ment of the all-important end for which they are adopted. He 
whose ' eyes are upon the truth,' whose providence has watched over 
it, and preserved it from becoming extinct in the dark ages of 
Israelitish idolatry and Roman superstition, must regard with infi- 
nite complacency the zealous attempts of His servants to spread it in 
the world. Attempts — did I say ? The term is no longer applicable 
to the comprehensive and most successful achievements of the Bible 
Society, They did attempt, and their attempts succeeded ; now they 
are going forward, ' conquering and to conquer.' Nor can it be 
otherwise ; for, thus saith Jehovah, Debhari asher jetze mippi lo 
jashubh elai rekam : ki im asah eth asher hhaphatzti, vehitzliachh 
asher shelahhtiv : My word which proceedeth from my mouth shall 
not return to me empty : on the contrary, it shall effect that which 
I please, and it shall bring that to maturity whereto I sent it." 

" April 27, 1813. May the God of Jacob be the breaker-up of your 
way before you ! The station you occupy truly calls for the work of 
a pioneer to clear away the forests, and prepare a path in the desert. 
The employment is honourable ; the issue and the reward will be 
glorious." 

" Reykiavik, July 22, 1814. I have these last six weeks been has- 
tening from your scene of labour, and approaching to that of Mr. 
McLaey. I assure you, I reckon myself out of Europe ; and indeed, 
not only out of Europe, but at the very verge of the habitable globe. 
Still we are one. No distance can separate us in heart, or alienate 
our affections. Our aim, our object is the same, the promotion of 
His glory, fellowship with Him in that glory for ever, and the ever- 
lasting welfare of our fellow-men. Wherever we are, let us abide in 
Him ; then we shall have fellowship with Him and with one another." 

" Sept. 23, 1815. I rejoice in your prosperity. It is unexampled. 
Gladly would I come and endeavour to earn a small share of your 
honour, but the Lord calls me to fill an humbler sphere, — a sphere 
far more coincident with my limited talents and ability." .... 



30£ THIRD JOURNEY. 

" Oct. 21, 1815. When your letter arrives, I lay my account with 
many ErgbdicKkeiten, many notices of the mighty progress of the 

divine word in your parts The Lord be your guide, and 

may you ever be in His hand, as a little child in the hand of his 
father, ever willing to follow where He leads. May He bless your 
every effort, and at last give you the crown of glory." 

" Christiansfeld, April 24, 1816. On my arrival at this place a 
few hours ago, I had the inexpressible pleasure of receiving letters 
from Tarn, SteinkopfF, Gibson, Dick, and Van der Smissen : but none 
of them proved equally gratifying with one received at the same 
time from yourself, dated the 7th (19th) March. After such an in- 
terval it proved like cold water to a thirsty soul. I lifted up my 
hands, and thanked Him who is thus pouring out his Spirit upon all 
flesh, and causing His word to run very swiftly, so that even in our 
day all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. I 
could write a commentary in folio, on each division of your letter. 
The first communicated information of the utmost importance to me 
on my present mission. The interest His Majesty takes in the cause, 
I shall have occasion to adduce in the presence of princes ; and I 
trust it will excite to emulation." 

Three years only separated these friends in their death ; 
and now they alike rest from their labours, awaiting a 
glorious resurrection, and the full fruition of that joy 
wherewith they shall see the final ingathering of the 
redeemed, as well from the North and from the East, as 
from the West and from the South. 



CHAPTER V. 

Tutorship at Hoxton. (1826—1830.) 

" And they said, The spirit of Elijah doth rest on Elisha."— 2 Kings ii. 15. 

Twenty years of foreign labour were to be succeeded by 
thirty years of usefulness at home. A course of frequent 
wanderings and ceaseless variety was to be exchanged for 
a settled home and a round of daily engagements. But in 
each phase of his life, the subject of this Memoir showed 
himself impelled by the same motive, guided by the same 
rule, and strengthened by the same heavenly aid. There 
are some who find a roving life detrimental to their spiritual 
interests. It had not been so with him. The following 
passage occurs in one of his letters from Copenhagen : — 

" I find moving of use in a spiritual point of view. It reminds me 
that this is not my home, that here I have no continuing city, and 
stirs me up more earnestly to seek one that is to come. I was much 
struck lately with that [expression] ' strangers with God.' I had 
often repeated it, but my attention had always been confined to the 
word ' strangers.' It now appears to me that there is a considerable 
emphasis to be laid on the words ' with God ;' by which we are 
taught two things. First, we are strangers with God, in His country, 
under His government. All our protection, provision, etc., is from 
Him. In the possession and enjoyment of every earthly thing, we 
must ever recollect, This is God's ! Secondly, if we are strangers 
with God, we can want for nothing that is truly good for us. Never 



804 TTJTOTISHIP AT HOXTON. 

did a king make such provision for those who passed through, or 
sojourned in his territory, as God has made for us on our passing 
through this world to the realms of glory. Surely He is entitled to 
our warmest gratitude, most unlimited confidence, and most unre- 
served obedience." 

There was another danger to which he had been exposed. 
The successful labourer is often tempted to forget his 
dependence on the sovereign mercy of a forgiving God ; 
but from this snare, likewise, he had been graciously pre- 
served. In writing from Tiflis, he thus expressed himself: 

" The Lord has now borne with my manners nearly as long as He 
did with the Israelites in the wilderness. Alas ! that He should have 
found in me so much resembling their conduct, so much rebellion 
and disobedience ! Justly might He swear in His wrath that I shall 
not enter into His rest! But my hope is in His mercy — that special 
mercy which flows to guilty repentant sinners through the atonement 
of His dear Son. To what quarter could a self-condemned sinner 
look for comfort but to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ ? Viewing 
by faith the glorious work which was finished there by Him who 
created all things, whether visible or invisible, and which was 
demonstrated to be accepted of the Father by His raising Him from 
the dead, hope and comfort, peace and joy spring up in his heart. 
Here, I bless God, I am enabled to rest my hopes ; hence I derive 
my consolation and joy." 

Such was his frame of self-renunciation, such his spirit of 
confidence in God. His inner life's spirituality suffered 
not from his outer life's contact with the world's distracting 
scenes. His activity of service interfered not with his 
humility of spirit. 

Hence it followed that he knew how to wait as well as 
how to serve, — how to be abased as well as how to abound. 
From July to November, he remained in uncertainty as to 
what might be his future post of duty. Both at Brighton 
and at Dorking he preached for several successive Sabbaths : 
and during the intervening weeks, he undertook numerous 



WAITING-TIME. 305 

anniversary-sermons at the villages around. He was 
abundantly and usefully engaged ; but no settled employ- 
ment was in prospect. Month after month was passing 
away, and still no light broke upon his path. Dark was 
the cloud which had for a season overshadowed it. When 
he left Russia, he had transmitted to a mercantile friend 
in London the entire amount of his little property, accruing 
from the profits of his work on Iceland, and from the sale 
of such furniture as he could not advantageously bring with 
him, together with the six months 5 salary just paid from 
the Imperial treasury. ;No sooner had he arrived in this 
country, than he heard that the house to which these sums 
had been consigned was declared insolvent. Eventually he 
recovered from the wreck no more than sufficed to defray 
the expenses of his passage, and to pay the custom-house- 
dues on his valuable store of books. Happily, he and his 
family were neither homeless nor friendless. His sister- 
in-law welcomed them to her house in Mecklenburgh 
Square ; she set apart a room as his study, and with her 
they remained until Providence opened the way for an 
employment, which was at once congenial to his taste and 
useful to the Church. 

It has been hinted by some, and not without reason, 
that if Dr. Henderson had remained in Petersburgh until 
the final suspension of the Russian Bible Society, he would 
probably have obtained, as did Dr. Paterson, the grant of 
a life-pension from the Emperor. But no such thought 
was ever allowed to dwell upon his mind. Even when his 
prospects were at the gloomiest, he felt that he had acted 
for the best, and he was content to watch the developing 
of his Father's will concerning him. The result made all 
clear. Had he remained abroad, another than himself 
must have filled the vacant Tutorship, and the current of 

x 



306 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

his after-life might have been turned into a wholly different 
course, — perhaps, one less widely beneficial. 

The decease of the Eev. Dr. Bogue, in October 1825, 
was regarded as no ordinary bereavement. It was not his 
family, nor his hearers, nor his fellow-townsmen, that alone 
mourned for him. There were multitudes throughout the 
kingdom who bewailed him as " the chariot of Israel and 
the horsemen thereof." With one voice they were ready 
to exclaim, i( Is there not a great man fallen this day in 
Israel?" All felt how truthful was the eulogy which 
showed him to have been great in capacities — great in 
attainments — great in graces — great in energy — great 
in goodness — and great in influence.* On every hand 
might be heard the enquiry, " What shall we say to the 
Directors and Friends of the London Missionary Society ? 
where can they look for another Bogue as the tutor of 
their important Seminary ?"f It was a question hard to 
answer. 

But the sorrow and the anxiety which prevailed, could 
not be suffered to generate supineness. It was needful to 
make a provisional arrangement without delay. On the 
recommendation of several friends, it was determined that 
Dr. Henderson should be invited to take charge of the 
Missionary students, until a definite plan should be formed. 
To Gosport he immediately went, and entered with deep 
interest on the incalculably important work. On him 
devolved the whole of the tuition, except in the classical 
department, which the Rev. T. Eastman continued to 
superintend as before.* As Dr. Henderson had no College- 

* Funeral Sermon, by the Rev. John Griffin, 
f Evangelical Magazine (1826), p. 6. 

X After the students had been removed to London, the classical tuition 
was entrusted to the Rev. D. Bishop. 



INVITATION TO OFFICE. 307 

Lectures prepared, and had to plunge at once into duties 
altogether new, he found his time very fully occupied. 
" But," he writes, "■ by the help of God I get on much 
better than I expected. I find the young men very teach- 
able, and they seem no less attached to me than I am to 
them, for they have written up a joint-letter to the Direc- 
tors, thanking them for sending me among them." There 
were at that timeonly fifteen students; but the Society had 
it in contemplation to increase the number, and to give 
them additional advantages by removing the institution to 
the metropolis, where literary privileges could with greater 
facility be secured. The vacating of Hoxton College, in 
consequence of the removal of the ministerial students to 
the new building erected for them at Highbury, was an 
opportunity of which the Mission Board gladly availed 
themselves; and arrangements were made for occupying 
the premises by the next summer. 

Unable to gain the services of any veteran minister, 
the Directors agreed on inviting Dr. Henderson to accept 
the permanent Tutorship. To the Treasurer of the Society, 
who communicated their resolution, and who announced 
that they would send a deputation to confer with him 
upon the subject, he addressed the following reply : — 

Gosport, April 19, 1826. 
" My dear Sir, — I was this morning favoured with your im- 
portant communication respecting the Resolution to which the 
Directors have come on the subject of the Tutorship at Hoxton. 
That you have not succeeded in procuring the services of one or 
another of those Ministers, whose long and profound study of 
Divinity, connected with their other superior qualifications, pecu- 
liarly fit them for filling this situation, I most sincerely regret. For 
though I can truly say that nothing would give me greater delight 
than to be in any way instrumental in preparing Missionary can- 
didates for the great and weighty office towards which their atten- 
tion is directed, I do feel the duties and responsibilities attaching to 



308 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

the Theological Tutorship to be of so very serious a nature, that I 
should consider it the height of presumption in a mere stripling like 
myself to think of undertaking the task. 

" Surely, my dear Sir, the Directors are not aware that the course 
of study which I enjoyed before leaving Scotland was extremely 
limited ; and that during the twenty years I have spent in foreign 
parts, my time has been so completely occupied with business of an 
altogether desultory kind, as to preclude the possibility of my giving 
any attention to the study of systematic theology. 

" If I were situated anywhere in the vicinity of the Seminary, 
and it were required that I should assist the students in acquiring 
a critical acquaintance with the original Scriptures, and the prin- 
ciples of Biblical interpretation, I might not feel such reluctance to 
offer my services to the Society : but the objects embraced by the 
Resolution are incomparably more difficult and comprehensive. 

" All this, however, I shall have an opportunity of explaining at 
large to the gentlemen of the Deputation, whom I shall be happy 
to receive on Monday evening, — there not being anything to render 
their visit to the Seminary in the least inconvenient. I shall make 
every arrangement for their accommodation during the period of 
their stay. 

"Requesting my best respects to Mrs, Hankey and family, and 
to the Board of Directors, I am, 

" My dear Sir, 

" Your's very truly, 
(Signed) "E. Henderson. 

11 To W. Alers Hankey, Esq." 

The tone of this letter was not such as to create dis- 
couragement. Dr. Henderson was already known to be 
one who could master any subject to which he gave close 
attention, and who would spare no pains to fit himself for 
the conscientious discharge of any duty he might be pre- 
vailed on to undertake. The deputation consisted of the 
Rev. Messrs. Watford, Orme, and Yockney. They visited 
Gosport, examined the students, and were satisfied with 
the proficiency evinced. They conversed with Dr. Hen- 
derson, overcame his scruples, and induced his consent. 
From the Home Secretary, the late Rev. J. Arundel, he 
received a letter announcing his final appointment, and 



ACCEPTANCE OF OFFICE. 309 

expressing most cordial wishes that a blessing might rest 
upon his labours. His formal acceptance of the office was 
thus worded : — 

11 To the Board of Directors of the London Missionary Society. 

"Honoured Fathers and Brethren, — After maturely weighing 
the proposition made to me by the Board relative to the Resident 
and Theological Tutorship of the Missionary College at Hoxton, and 
receiving such explanations as seemed requisite on the subject from 
the Rev. Messrs. Walford, Yockney, and Orme, whom you had the 
kindness to depute to confer with me on the subject, I have resolved, 
in dependence on the guidance and strength promised by the Great 
Head of the Church, to place my services in your hands, and shall 
consider myself highly honoured, if any portion of days that may yet 
remain to me upon earth should be devoted in this particular way 
to the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom in the -world. 

" I can truly say that I have not come to this determination with- 
out considerable hesitation and distrust ; but the explanations given 
by the Deputation to obviate my difficulties, and the entire con- 
fidence I have in the Directors that they will render me every 
possible assistance in endeavouring to carry their views into effect, 
encourage me at least to make the attempt. 

" Honoured Fathers and Brethren ! Permit me to request a par- 
ticular interest in your prayers that the Divine blessing may rest 
on my feeble efforts while remaining at Gosport, and that should it 
please the God of all grace to conduct my steps to Hoxton, I may 
be enabled to proceed thither with some degree of comfort and 
peace. 

" I remain, 

. " Honoured Fathers and Brethren, 
" Your most obedient servant in the Gospel of our Lord^ 
(Signed) " E. Henderson."* 

Amidst his duties, actual and prospective, he found time 
to carry through the press his " Biblical Researches and 
Travels in Russia." It is less scientific than his work on 
Iceland, and was somewhat less popular. His observations 
as a tourist, however, have often been referred to, and 

* The two foregoing letters have been kindly furnished from the 
Mission House by the Foreign Secretary. 



310 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

often cited. Dr. Kitto, who took the volume with him 
when going over the same ground, pronounces its descrip- 
tions accurate, and says that " it will be a useful vade 
mecum to those who fall in with any of his routes."* As 
the title imports, the Biblical element has a marked promi- 
nence. The fourth chapter is entirely devoted to an ac- 
count of the Slavonic versions ; and a fifth, to the history 
of Russian translations ; while the eighteenth contains 
remarks on the Tatar and other modern editions, espe- 
cially those prepared by the Missionaries in the South. 
On Missionary enterprise the author makes a few remarks 
which are of value as a testimony to his preparedness for 
his new field of labour, and his sense of its exceeding 
importance. In allusion to the Mohammedan tribes, he 
says, — 

" Nor must those who are sent to labour among them, be men 
of ordinary talent. The system which the Missionaries have here 
to combat, is not one of gross paganism, the absurdities of which 
may easily be demonstrated to the very senses of its votaries, but it 
consists of a number of metaphysical subtleties, which can only be 
exposed by the application of true principles of ratiocination. They 
should, therefore, be men not merely well instructed in the nature 
and principles of the kingdom of Christ, but possessed of a manly 
and powerful intellect {TTvev/ia £vvd/u.eivs), capable of detecting and 
refuting all the false reasonings of Islamism, and distinguished by 
their aptitude to communicate the truth in a manner suited to the 
different classes of their hearers. To employ men of weak minds 
and scanty attainments in such a field, would only be to confirm the 
enemy in the persuasion that Christianity is incapable of defence." 
—Pages 450, 451. 

After some more specific remarks on the necessity for 
their acquaintance with the Arabic language, he adds, — 

"It must, however, be at all times kept prominently in view, that 
the first-rate literary attainments in a Missionary will never com- 

* Ryland's Memoir of Dr. Kitto, 1856, p. 348. 



"biblical researches/' 311 

pensate for the want of genuine piety and devotedness to the cause 
of the Redeemer. Upon this point the Directors of Missionary 
Societies can never be too scrupulously cautious. Instead of con- 
tenting themselves with an unimpeachable moral life, they ought 
to have, as far as man can judge, the most unequivocal evidence of 
vital Christianity. Nor is it sufficient to constitute any man a fit 
missionary subject that his mind be really imbued with the prin- 
ciples of the Gospel ; these principles ought to exist in vigorous ex- 
ercise, enlightening the judgment with spiritual truth, controlling 
the will, and regulating the temper and affections in no ordinary 
degree. The observation of Mr. Newton, that London Christians 
require London grace, will apply with tenfold force to those who 
leave the profusion of Gospel means, and come into immediate con- 
tact with error, indifference, and vice. In their intercourse with 
Mohammedans, every part of their conduct ought to inspire the 
mind with the feeling that they are men who are seeking to promote 
the interests of no earthly establishment, but that they are influenced 
by a habitual sense of the presence of God, and the importance of 
eternal things. Their words, their dispositions, their actions, ought 
at all times to breathe a celestial influence, and impress the minds 
of those around them with the conviction, that they are really 
actuated by different principles from other men." — Pages 452, 453. 

Appended to the list of works " by the same author/' 
at the close of the above-named volume, there is mention 
made of one which was preparing for the press, and which 
was to bear the title, " The Institutes of Biblical Transla- 
tion." The syllabus proceeded thus : " In three parts. — 
Part I. On the Qualifications of Translators. — Part II. 
Helps for Facilitating the Translation of the Sacred Scrip- 
tures. — Part III. Canons of Biblical Translation. The 
whole illustrated by numerous examples from the ancient 
versions and modern translations, and interspersed with 
remarks, critical, philological, and bibliographical." Why 
this work was never completed, remains unknown. Pro- 
bably it was laid aside through the pressure of incumbent 
duties, while these duties in process of time caused the 
germination of other ideas and the production of other 
fruit. In the unfinished MS., the first of the three pro- 



312 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

jected sections is alone complete. It is characterized more 
by research than by original thought. It contains a very 
large number of citations, yet they are drawn from so 
many and such varied sources as to indicate the pains- 
taking diligence with which the theme had been studied. 
As a manual on sacred translation, on the views which have 
prevailed concerning it, and on the natural, moral, and 
literary endowments requisite in those who undertake it, 
this fragment might have had its value, if printed in a 
detached form. Should circumstances re-awaken a general 
interest in the subject, it is possible that steps may be 
taken with a view to its publication. In the mean while, a 
passage may be extracted which illustrates a guiding prin- 
ciple of Dr. Henderson's labours at the Mission College. 

" Before closing these general observations on the qualifications of 
a translator of the Holy Scriptures, it may not be deemed irrelevant 
briefly to advert to the practical questions : What measure of these 
qualifications renders a man competent to engage in the work of 
translation ? And to what extent may this competence rationally 
be expected in Missionaries and others in immediate contact with 
those Pagans and Mohammedans, who have hitherto remained desti- 
tute of the Holy Scriptures ? That all such are qualified for an 
undertaking of this nature, it would be the height of absurdity to 
suppose. With respect to Missionary work in particular, it is well 
known that it has its different departments ; and, when judiciously 
divided, according to the different talents of those who are engaged 
in it, each labourer having that share allotted to him for which he 
is peculiarly fitted, the whole may be expected to proceed harmo- 
niously towards a successful issue. While, therefore, it would be 
highly improper to devolve the work of translation upon Mission- 
aries whose gifts peculiarly qualify them for the tuition of youth, or 
for addressing adults, and reasoning with them on the all-important 
subjects of the gospel-message, nothing is more natural than for 
those to engage in it, who, either from enlarged mental culture, a 
more intense application to philological studies, or some other pecu- 
liarly determining circumstances, are the persons evidently marked 
out by the providence of God for this particular division of labour. 
It must be obvious, however, that for such to do justice to the under- 



BIBLICAL TRANSLATION. 313 

taking, they must devote to it the whole of their time and attention, 
and, in fact, merge the character of Missionaries in that of Trans- 
lators. Whether, in this point of view, it would not be advisable 
for Missionary Societies to train up a number of Missionaries with a 
special reference to this object, and send them forth amply supplied 
with those literary aids which are required for its suitable attain- 
ment, — or whether some such plan should be adopted by Bible 
Societies, — I will not take upon me to determine ; but so much is 
certain, that the subject has not yet been sufficiently taken into con- 
sideration. Some friends of Missions seem to labour under the idea 
that ordinary talents and very moderate acquirements are quite suffi- 
cient in Missionaries destined to labour among savage and unlettered 
nations ; and there have not been wanting those, who imagine that 
Missionary workmen in general might be adequately supplied from 
among such as are incapable of undertaking the charge of home- 
congregations. It requires, however, a very superficial acquaintance 
with human nature and human affairs to detect the fallacy of such 
reasoning; and it may safely be affirmed, that a Missionary who is 
sent to a savage tribe, whose language he finds rude and unculti- 
vated as the people who speak it, and whose object it is to make it 
the medium for conveying religious truth to their minds both by 
oral instruction', and by giving them the word of God in their own 
tongue, has by far a harder literary and intellectual task to perform 
than even he who has his station assigned to him among the Persians 
or the Hindoos. 

" Considering the diversity of talent actually existing among Mis- 
sionaries, it would be unreasonable to suppose that anything should 
be found in the versions that have been made, like equal approxi- 
mations toward what must be considered a model of good transla- 
tion. The moral and literary qualifications of such men as Carey, 
Marshman, Morrison, and Milne, leave no room to doubt that their 
versions have been made with all the care and ability which it was 
possible to exert in their circumstances. But there are numbers who 
have neither possessed their talents nor their advantages, who have 
also laboured assiduously in the work of translation ; and though we 
may indulge the hope that the versions of the latter will, more or 
less, be instrumental in admitting the rays of Divine Truth into the 
regions of Pagan darkness, it is impossible not to conclude that they 
are, in most instances, so inferior to what they would have been, if 
properly qualified translators had entered on the task, that the one 
class could no more be compared with the other than the first rude 
essays of translation into the vernacular languages of Europe are fit 
to be placed by the side of our commonly-received versions. 



314 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

"It certainly can "never admit of a moment's doubt, that transla- 
tions made by pious and conscientious men, though destitute of any 
eminence in literary talent, are to be preferred to none ; and every 
sincere and unprejudiced friend of the Scriptures and the souls of 
the perishing heathen will at once avow, that, if more adequate 
means cannot be introduced into this department of sacred labour, 
those devoted men, how humble soever their attainments, are to 
be encouraged to attempt the transfusion of ' the words of eternal 
life ' into the languages of the people among whom they labour. 
But this expedient does not remove the responsibility from those 
who have it in their power to furnish translators, duly trained 
and equipped, to discharge this most difficult, but urgent and indis- 
pensable duty." 

It was evidently the tutor's desire to send forth, labourers 
thoroughly furnished, workmen that would not need to be 
ashamed. The special attention which in his lectures he be- 
stowed on the department of Biblical Criticism, was not so 
much the result of his acknowledged predilection for that 
branch of study, as it was the fruit of a firmly-rooted belief 
in its practical importance to those who were receiving his 
tuition. But we must remove with him to his new sphere, 
and mark how he applied himself to its duties. In August, 
he entered his allotted dwelling, that all might be ready, 
before the close of September, for the commencement of 
the session. " I wish you and Mrs. H. well through the 
fatigues of settling at Hoxton, which will need patience ; 
but the world is full of labour ; there will be rest enough 
in the grave, to which we are all every day hastening. 
Bogue worked ; — now you work ; — let all work while it is 
day ; ' the night cometh.' " So wrote the Rev. George 
Burder. The words are doubly forcible, now that the 
writer of that friendly note, and he to whom it was ad- 
dressed, have alike finished their course, and passed away 
from the scenes of earthly usefulness. 

The opening services were held on October 10th, at 



INAUGURAL SERVICES. 315 

Hoxton Chapel. Addresses were delivered by the Rev. 
John Griffin of Portsea, and by the Rev. J. A. James of 
Birmingham. That of the former was retrospective ; that 
of the latter, prospective. In reference to the new tutor, 
both the orators spoke words of kindness and encourage- 
ment. " Oh that the spirit of Elijah/' said the former, 
" may rest in double portion on Elisha !" " May God 
grant him health," said the latter, " and Divine assistance 
to discharge with comfort and success the duties of his 
very important and arduous station, that his name may be 
mentioned with no less honour and esteem than that of his 
truly great and illustrious predecessor 1" Such were the 
benedictions which hailed the opening of his tutorial 
career; such the prayers which were richly answered in 
his behalf. 

It is not too much to say, that the mantle of the departed 
man of God was seen to rest upon him. In temperament, 
and in attainment, there were points of strong affinity be- 
tween the two. It is more than a fancy which emboldens 
to this assertion. Let any reader, who knew Dr. Hender- 
son, take up the volume which memorializes " the Fathers 
and Founders of the London Missionary Society," with a 
view to seek therein the fittest prototype to the tutor of the 
Mission College, and there is little doubt that the por- 
traiture of the Gosport patriarch would be unhesitatingly 
selected. The following delineations may serve to illustrate 
the idea. One of Dr. Bogue's biographers writes : — 

" His eminence was not derived from the splendour of genius, the 
vastness of his researches, or the brilliancy of his accomplishments. 
To the excursions of imagination or the elegancies of taste, he made 
no pretensions. The treasures of learning he estimated at their 
proper value. His information was, indeed, varied and profound, 
but it was well-arranged, well-digested, and kept in its proper 
place, without being suffered to usurp a prominence disproportioned 



316 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

to its intrinsic worth. He was not a man either to dazzle others, or 
to be dazzled himself, by the parade of scholarship, or an array of 
imposing names. No man knew better how to distinguish between 
the vain show and the substantial reality. With him scholarship 
and science were merely instruments for the attainment of more 
important ends, and he soared far above the littleness of those who 
forget the high objects of their holy calling, and whose learning 
serves but to illuminate their own insignificance, or to gratify the 
vain ambition to shine as the possessors of a cumbrous and un- 
manageable load of what is comparatively useless."* 

Another says, — 

" In him we possessed the profound wisdom that can counsel and 
guide, and with not the less effect for the want of that genius that 
we suspect may mislead, because we feel that it can fascinate and 
enchant. In him we saw a superiority that we felt it a compliment 
to our virtue to venerate, while our self-love was soothed by feeling 
that his goodness brought him down sufficiently to our level to make 

him an object of affection We often know not whether he 

inspired attachment or awe, the affection was so respectful, and the 
veneration so pleasant."f 

The likeness was traceable also in a true catholicity of 
spirit, blended with firmness of principle and decision of 
view ; — in urbanity of manner, qualified by the dignity 
that upheld the honour of office ; — in seriousness of deport- 
ment, relieved by a constant serenity and an occasional 
quiet sportiveness. With respect to an interest in missions, 
the parallel in like manner holds good. Each had been 
prepared to go forth among the heathen, and labour per- 
sonally in the cause. Each had been led to contemplate 
India as the sphere of effort. Each had been hindered — 
the one directly, the other indirectly— through the same 
anti-evangelic influence and the same prohibitive policy. 
Yet each was ready, though he might not visit pagan 

* Fathers and Founders of the London Missionary Society, p. 213. 
f Ibid. p. 215. 



MISSION LECTURES. ol7 

lands, to do what in him lay toward aiding those whom 
Providence might select for the task. 

It is true that Dr. Henderson lacked the weight of years, 
but he possessed a compensative advantage in the fund of 
experience gained through a personal observation of foreign 
labourers in foreign stations. Repeated instances of failure 
and of success had come under his notice; and in each 
case he had so analyzed the origin of the evil, or the secret 
of the prosperity, as to have laid up a store of sound prac- 
tical conclusions. Hence he was able to enrich his lectures 
with apposite and forcible illustrations, which gave pointed- 
ness and weight to the maxims that he inculcated. The 
manuscript syllabus of his course on Missions affords many 
a proof that such was the method he pursued. Sometimes 
a name of person or place, — sometimes an initial, — some- 
times a word written in shorthand, or concealed beneath 
the garb of Arabic or Syriac characters — indicates that he 
drew on his memory for some animating example, or for 
some warning anecdote, to enforce his position. It is in- 
teresting to note one commendation which he has inscribed 
in plainly legible terms. " The Basle Missionaries of all 
that I have seen, excel," he says, " in their entire devoted- 
ness to the work. A few hundred such men as Diettrich, 
Zaremba, Saltet, and Bekker, would, by the Divine bless- 
ing, completely change the face of things in the heathen 
world/' 

One of the classes — that of 1830 — addressed a letter to 
their tutor, expressing the pleasure and profit with which 
they had attended this series of lectures, and requesting 
that he would undertake its publication. There seems to 
have been at least a passing notion of compliance with the 
proposal ; for on the cover of the volume has been inscribed 
evidently as an after-thought, a title, with a text-motto : 



318 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

" The true and faithful Missionary, 1 Tim. ii. 7." What 
consideration may have turned the scale, cannot now be 
determined. It may have been the fact that the remarks 
were of too limited an applicability to warrant their pre- 
sentment to the public ; or it may have been the convic- 
tion, that not a little of the interest attaching to them in a 
viva-voce delivery, had accrued from the interjected narra- 
tives, which were useful in the telling, but which in printed 
form must have lost either their delicacy of handling or 
their potency of meaning. The listener may be content 
with a nameless and a dateless anecdote, where the reader 
would be stumbled by a sense of the vague and the in- 
definite. 

Some of the Lectures are penned merely in outline ; 
others are more filled in, and finished. They start w T ith a 
view of the entire mission-field ; the various systems of 
false religions ; the localities in which they prevail ; the 
number and moral character of their adherents. They 
then treat minutely of the missionary's requisite qualifica- 
tions. His knowledge — of the world ; of human nature ; 
of history; of languages ; of the sciences and useful arts ; 
and of theology. His faith. His prayerfulness. His self- 
consecration. His zeal. His diligence. Then his pru- 
dence, which is viewed under divers aspects, as it involves 
personal, relative, pecuniary, and sanatory welfare. His 
self-denial. His fortitude, evincing itself in greatness of 
soul, equanimity, patience, meekness, and constancy. His 
humility. His good temper. And finally, his Christian 
catholicity. Frequent are the monitions against being 
Wwj *jh " the worthless shepherd," Zech. xi. 17 ; or " the 
wicked, slothful, good-for-nothing servant," 7rov7]pb$, oKvrjpbs, 
axpelos, Matt. xxv. 26 — 30. Many are the exhortations, 
even when most harassed and oppressed, still to be frj-rt fr? 



MISSION LECTURES. 319 

" faint, yet pursuing," Judg. viii. 4; and constantly 
a*{n)vi£e(x0cu tov koKov a^tbva, " to fight the good, the glorious 
fight," 2 Tim. iv. 7 ; to " keep under {yirunria^u)) to treat 
with severity, to subject to harshness, the body, the medium 
of contact with a sinful world ; and to bring it into subjec- 
tion, to lead it about (hovXa^uo^w) as a. chained slave, 1 Cor. 
ix. 27.-" The secret of success is truthfully exhibited in 
the following paragraphs : — 

" The business on which you go forth is of so unearthly a nature, 
— it has so immediately to do with God, the souls of men, and the 
eternal world, that except you are influenced by motives drawn 
from these sources, you must inevitably fail of becoming efficient 
labourers in the missionary field. It is not to learn languages, trans- 
late books, or introduce the arts and sciences of civilized life, that 
you go to the heathen. Whatever of this description may engage 
your attention is merely subordinate and accessory. You go to in- 
struct, to win, to save souls. To this everything must bend ; to 
this everything must be laid under contribution. For this you are 
to labour, and toil, and wrestle, and endure all manner of evils, not 
even counting your life dear unto yourself, that you may accomplish 
the end of your mission. You must lay your account with attacks 
from within and from without. Enemies, difficulties, discouragements, 
and dangers, will surround you. 

"And can you possibly expect to prove successful in such an 
enterprise, to enter heartily into it, or prosecute it with enthusiasm, 
vigour, and perseverance, if your spirit be worldly, and your affec- 
tions low and grovelling ? If the minding of earthly and heavenly 
things be incompatible with each other, and the friendship of the 
world be enmity with God, no real good can be expected from the 
man who undertakes the missionary work with a soul impregnated 
with the love of sensible objects, who is chained down to considera- 
tions derived from the concerns of time, and whose innate depravity 
is kept in powerful contact with the external engines of his great 
adversary. 

" The genuine and efficient missionary breathes a freer and purer 
atmosphere. Elevated by a strong and lively faith above the in- 
ferior and passing trifles of this world's interests, he pursues with a 
single eye the noble and all-important concerns of the spiritual and 
heavenly kingdom. He is borne along by a powerful current of 
holy and spiritual influence. His pathway is marked by all who 



320 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

surround him. He scatters blessings as he holds on his course. 
The energies which he puts forth, arrest and interest and captivate 
his fellow-men ; and he is prepared to say in a subordinate sense in 
the great day of account, ' Behold, I and the children whom Thou 
hast given me.' 

" But what is it that gives to the most honoured and happiest of 
mortal men this distinguished elevation and this blessed success ? 
A high-toned devotional feeling ; — a feeling which sheds its benign 
and transforming influence over his whole soul ; causes his heart to 
burn, and his face to shine ; lifts him above himself and the world ; 
prompts to sweet and delightful communion with his God and 
Saviour ; draws water from the river of life ; and ensures the bless- 
ing which maketh rich, and with which no sorrow is connected. It 
is the key which opens the treasury of heaven ; the instrument of 
obtaining the increase. 

" As no Christian can thrive or prosper in his soul who restrains 
prayer before God, or engages in the duty without fervour and 
without feeling ; so no missionary can succeed in his enterprise, 
whose heart is not touched with fire from the altar of God, causing 
it to send upwards the holy flame of devotion, and communicating 
to every faculty of the mind, to the words of the lip, and to the 
actions of the life, a vitality and an energy, the influence of which 
must be more or less felt by all within his reach. Some of the 
fathers call prayer the medicine of the soul : it purifies, heals, ex- 
hilarates, and strengthens it. And is not such a state of soul required 
in a missionary ? Does not that man stand in need of a more than 
ordinary degree of spiritual health, who is exposed to so many 
dangers, and has to engage in duties so numerous, so arduous and 
self-denying ? 

" To all who are looking forward to this service, we would say, 
Be men of prayer. You may be, or become, men of science, men of 
eloquence, men of renown ; but if you are not men of prayer, God 
will turn your wisdom into folly ; He will strike you dumb before 
your admirers, and cover your honour with shame. If you do not 
unremittingly and importunately solicit His aid, He will leave you to 
do your work in your own strength, and it may be to your own 
satisfaction ; but the blast of His nostrils will wither the plants you 
rear : in plain language, He will suffer precious and immortal souls 
to languish and die through your negligence in not wrestling for a 
blessing on your labours. Is not the bare idea affectingly over- 
whelming, and calculated to excite the most trembling anxiety lest 
it should ever be realized in your experience ? Do you detest the 
character and wish to avoid the fate of such a missionary ? Be 



MISSION-LECTURES. 321 

now and ever frequent and fervent in prayer. ' Pray without 
ceasing.' Not only make conscience of regular secret prayer, and 
aspire after enlargements in it, but cultivate an habitual spirit of 
prayer, and seek to abound in it more and more. This will render 
your labour sweet, your burdens light, and your efforts successful. 
It will bring consolation and support into your own bosom, and be 
a source of usefulness to others. It will soften your heart, enlighten 
your mind, sweeten your temper, and make all your ministrations 
amiable, affecting, and instructive. 

" If you have learned this blessed art of communing with God, you 
may be in the dreary waste, or the busy bustling city, but you will 
be happy and secure in both. If, on the other hand, you neglect to 
acquire or to cultivate such a spirit, you will be destitute of life and 
soul, — a corrupt carcase, proving 'the savour of death unto death ' 
to all who come near you. Your prayers, your preaching, your 
conversation, will be irksome and disagreeable — a task, painful to 
yourself, and unprofitable to others. 

" Oh, then, live near to God. Walk humbly with Him. Pour 
out your heart before him. Let your prayers, and your spirit of 
prayer, be fervent, believing, watchful, and persevering ; and they 
cannot fail to prove effectual." 

While thus seeking to elevate the standard of piety, 
Dr. Henderson was assiduously striving to foster a taste 
for theological and linguistic acquirements. Of his aca- 
demic labours, a sketch has been very kindly furnished by 
one who had access to the class-room, — one, whose expe- 
rimental knowledge of the advantages to be reaped in a 
Scottish University, effectually precluded his giving a nar- 
row or one-sided testimony. The following remarks, as 
just and truthful as they are graphic and life-like, will be 
deemed peculiarly reliable and. acceptable as coming from 
the pen of the Rev. Robert Ferguson, LL.D. 

" If it be the office of a true biographer to state facts and stimulate 
the heart, it follows that this stimulus will depend on the character 
of the facts, and on the light in which they are placed. JN T ot more 
really does a mere plan differ from a painting, than does the statement 
of naked fact from the warmth and the glow of feeling which speaks 
to the inmost soul. While the mind is informed, the heart should 

Y 



TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

be addressed. As in the sunbeam, the light should be accompanied 
with the warmth. If fact stimulates feeling, then feeling cannot but 
give a certain colouring to fact ; and where the two things are thus 
combined, the effect is striking and irresistible. 

u On this principle would I attempt to delineate the Academic life 
of my revered and honoured friend, while he presided over the Mission 
College, Hoxton. It is not affectation to say that he was pleased to 
favour me with as much of his friendship and confidence as any student 
under his care ; and though disease put a halt upon my course, and 
medical opinion put a veto on my appointment as a missionary to 
India, nothing was allowed to interrupt the hearty good-will which 
subsisted between us to the last. When I first saw him, Dr. Hender- 
son was a fine, tall, erect, athletic figure, in whose step there was a 
firm and manly tread, whose head presented a noble intellectual 
development, in whose eye there was a keen, clear, discriminating 
glance, on whose closed lips sat all the fixedness of purpose and reso- 
lution, and whose countenance was wont to light up with the widest 
intelligence combined with the purest benevolence. The last time 
that I looked upon him — and it was not long before he was called 
away from among us — his whole physique was changed. His once 
noble frame was then worn down and attenuated, his step was feeble 
and faltering, his vision dim and indistinct, his visage shrivelled and 
sunken, and everything in the outer man indicated the weight of 
years and the exhaustion of labour. He l>ent towards the earth, like 
some riper grain which invites the hand of the reaper. Physical 
decay interfered with intellectual activity ; but with a mind faith- 
fully educated and disciplined, and with a moral and spiritual nature 
assimilated to the Infinite Perfection, he stood on the verge of life, 
listening for the voice which should say to him, { Come up hither ;' 
and joyfully anticipating his entrance on that state where, surrounded 
by the conditions of a glorified existence, the fulness of life will re- 
veal itself in the perpetuity and completeness of an everlasting service. 

" The Class of students with whom I was associated during my 
short stay at Hoxton included within itself an amount of intellectual 
power not often to be found in so confined a circle. Men there were 
among them, who, to native strength and superiority of mind, added 
the advantage of diligent and laborious culture ; and though we can- 
not point to them as the greater lights who rule the day, we can yet 
speak of them as filling — or as having filled — some of the more im- 
portant spheres of labour in the church of God, or as having done 
nobler service in the field of missionary enterprise. It is only need- 
ful to name the late Samuel Dyer in China, Aaron Buzacott in the 
Southern Pacific, William Buyers in India, and George Christie in 



THE CLASS-ROOM. 323 

Africa, to indicate the mental and moral calibre of the men who daily 
sat at the feet of our Preceptor to hear his prelections and receive 
his teaching. 

"As a Teacher, he "brought nothing into the class-room which had 
not been carefully and even elaborately prepared. It was the avowal 
of the immortal jNewton, that he was conscious of nothing else but a 
habit of patient thinking which could at all distinguish him from 
other men. And this was equally true of my now sainted friend. It 
was rather his intense application and indomitable industry than any 
extraordinary talent that distinguished him. If by genius is meant 
the undoubted possession of the creative or inventive faculty, then 
genius was not the property of my friend. If anything, he was rather 
wanting in imagination. If ' embellished truths are the illuminated 
alphabet of larger children,' this was a species of writing which he 
never attempted. It is one thing to originate thought, and another 
thing altogether to combine the thoughts which already exist. The 
former belongs to no man ; the latter is the gift of genius. With all 
his boasted powers, man can originate nothing ; but thoughts, like 
atoms, admit of ever-varying combinations. Yet how few have the 
power either to discern or to seize upon the hidden aptitudes, and 
' from the basket and the acanthus to model the graceful capital.' My 
own fancy, I suppose, was then rather exuberant, and in his criticism 
upon a sermon which I had delivered before my fellow-students, he 
very good-naturedly said that he had no wish to clip my wings, but 
cautioned me not to attempt too high a flight. He never indulged 
much in illustration, and his illustrations never partook of the daring 
of genius. But if, on the other hand, ' genius is the instinct of enter- 
prise,' and if the instinct of enterprise is labour, then in this sense my 
honoured friend was the possessor of this mighty gift. Whatever 
celebrity may attach to his name and his memory, either in the 
present or in the future, he derived it not so much from the possession 
of any prodigious or commanding intellectual power, as from the 
more strenuous application of those faculties which were his in common 
with other men. Truly has it been said, ( It is felt to be a vulgarising 
of genius, that it should be lighted up in any other way than by a 
direct inspiration from Heaven, — and hence men have overlooked the 
steadfastness of purpose, the devotion to some single but great object, 
the unweariedness of labour that is given not in convulsive and pre- 
ternatural throes, but by little and little as the strength of the mind 
may bear it, the accumulation of many small efforts instead of a few 
grand and gigantic but perhaps irregular movements on the part of 
energies that are marvellous.' It is to this renewed and repeated 
effort that genius owes the best and the proudest of her achievements. 



324 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

Labour — patient and continued — is the price of everything which is 
worth possessing. Not otherwise are the higher walks of scholarship 
to be reached ; not otherwise are the heights of philosophy to be 
scaled ; not otherwise can we take the advanced ground of a riper 
science or a richer literature. As Dr. Henderson was not a man who 
lived without a purpose, neither was he a man to spend his hours 
without a plan. His time was faithfully divided ; and in each divi- 
sion, he had his self-appointed round of duties and engagements to 
which he devoted himself with unwearied and strenuous perseverance. 
" His Lectures were the result of extensive reading and careful in- 
vestigation. They had not the fire and the fervour of Chalmers ; 
they partook not of the subtle analysis and severe logic of Wardlaw ; 
nor can it be said that they had the thread and the texture of the 
erudite and accomplished Dr. Dick. On the other hand, they were 
as far removed from the looseness and the turgidness of D wight, as 
from the narrowness and the rigidness of some of our older divines. 
He excelled in weighing evidence, and impressing upon it its relative 
value. His discrimination was clear, and his judgment was sound. 
He was wholly free from theory and speculation. He dealt with 
fact, and not with fiction. He searched for data, and not for opinions. 
His conclusions rested on the most solid basis. His theology was 
rather scriptural than scholastic ; and his prelections were rather 
practical than brilliant. If on leaving the class-room we had nothing 
of the impulse and the impetus which I remember to have felt in 
common with all his students coming like an inspiration into the 
soul under the burning eloquence of Chalmers, — nothing of the excite- 
ment and the enthusiasm which pervaded the Divinity Hall of Edin- 
burgh, — there was yet the deep and calm conviction that we had 
been listening to a man who held the truth of God to be the sublimest 
of all realities, and who spoke because he believed. It was with him 
not a question, but a settled belief that every doctrine of Bevelation 
rests on a corresponding fact ; and that the facts of the Bible belong 
not to the lower sphere of doubt, but only to the higher sphere of 
certitude and assurance. In his crowded Hall, though surrounded 
by a numerous body of students, Chalmers was more like a preacher 
in the midst of a popular assembly ; and such were the life and the 
soul which seemed to animate his every utterance, that you forgot 
the Professor in the Man, and could only wonder at the sympathy 
which had been awakened between yourself and him. His was not 
the mere enunciation, however distinct or emphatic, of certain uni- 
versally acknowledged truths, but it was heart speaking to heart. 
In this Dr. Henderson failed, as did also Dr. Wardlaw. If in both 
there had been less of precision and more of enthusiasm, less of form 



THE CLASS-ROOM. 3.25 

and more of freedom, less of the chair and more of the pulpit, less of 
the professor and more of the man, both might hare taken the prece- 
dence of Chalmers as a teacher and expositor. But ' every man in 
his own order.' My dear friend laboured much more to lay deep the 
foundation of the superstructure which he was then rearing than to 
produce anything like excitement within the breast of his disciples. 
His teaching was clear, simple, implicit, unhesitating, certain ; — it 
w r as positive and dogmatic, rather exhaustive than suggestive. Instead 
of simply supplying the germs of thought and truth, he gave every- 
thing in its development and fulness, and left little, if anything, to 
be added. What the student needs is the stimulus to work, and not 
to have everything worked out for him. It is enough to set the soul 
in motion, and then guide and control its direction. The impetus 
will determine the movement of the mind, and then nothing remains 
but to direct and regulate its activity. 

" In the Oriental languages and in Biblical criticism Dr. Henderson 
was at home. As a philologist, he had few equals in this country. 
He composed a Hebrew Grammar of his own, and allowed the students 
to copy it piecemeal from his own manuscript;* and in the reading 
and interpreting of the Hebrew Scriptures he revelled with unbounded 
delight. . Equally wide and correct was his acquaintance with the 
cognate languages, and this knowledge eminently qualified him for a 
freer and more independent exposition of the sacred text. In his 
criticism, he left the barren ground of an idle curiosity for the rich 
and abundant fruit of an honest research. In seeking to evolve the 
elements of thought, he often brought into view some deeper and 
more hidden truth. No forced and unnatural sense was put upon 
words and phrases ; and no attempt was ever made to support some 
favourite dogma in opposition to the received canons of Biblical 
interpretation. In his exegesis of the Greek New Testament he was 
supremely anxious to set forth what he believed to be the mind of 
the Spirit. The Divine thought or idea — that which lay in the mind 
of the Spirit of truth, and which was designed to be apprehended and 
felt by every reader — was the object of his pursuit. Infinite beauty 
and preciousness was thus seen to lie within the mere envelope of 

* This Grammar contained little beyond the paradigms. The rules 
were taught orally, as their use and application came into view in the 
course of reading. [The original has been destroyed, but there remains 
the transcript, which was kindly made by one of his students, the Rev. 
Michael Lewis, and which for many years served as the loan-copy both 
at Hoxton and Highbury. The missionary, just named, proceeded early 
in 1830 to George Town, Demerara, but before the completion of his 
second year abroad, he died in the prime and promise of his life.] 



826 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

words ; and presented to the student such a variety of thought arid of 
truth as to impress him with the fact that the field of theology, like 
the field of nature, has in it an essential unity, and yet this unity 
co-exists with an endless diversity. All that is required to make the 
pulpit more attractive and more influential, is a deeper study of the 
Book itself, and the power to set forth its matchless doctrines and 
discoveries in a style corresponding with their own simplicity and 
grandeur. 

" Of his Lectures on Missions, which were delivered at the interval 
of a month each, I heard but few ; but they promised to throw over 
the wide field of missionary effort a clearer and more certain light ; — 
to connect the history of Christian missions with the progress of 
humanity and the history of the nations ; — to show the reflex influence 
of the Church's doings in the more distant fields of labour, on her 
own spiritual life, and more perfect development ; — and thus to incite 
within the breast of each student the more ardent desire — the passion 
—to live and die for Christ among the perishing heathen. Nor did 
he fail in this effort. Of the men who left his class-room to go to the 
far-off nations with the message of reconciling love, not a few have 
finished their course with joy, and have entered into rest; others are 
still on the high places of the field, doing nobler service for God and 
for man ; while those who have been detained at home have not to 
this day lost either their missionary spirit or their missionary zeal. 

" Himself a man of intense application and labour, and knowing 
from his own experience that there is no other path to success and to 
eminence, he loved the men who were willing to make the effort and 
endure the toil of an ascent. If he did not, like the immortal 
Chatham, trample difficulties under his feet, he could, in the exercise 
of a purer faith, at least smile at them. Sloth and sluggishness were 
alien to his own nature, and he had no sympathy with idleness in his 
students. He believed that activity is in proportion to the vital power, 
and therefore the more perfect the life, the wider and the freer the 
activity of the whole man. Not that he imposed more upon his class 
than they could healthfully do ; but such^were the ardour, and de- 
votedness, and nobler ambition of not a few, that strength failed them, 
and in broken health they were forced to withdraw from their chosen 
object, and seek a sphere of labour at home, or in some instances to sink 
into an early grave. The scholar tried to emulate his master ; and the 
master might have been seen weeping over the loss of his scholar. 

" He had a high appreciation of merit. Like every one possessed 
of richer gifts and wider attainments, he was a man of generous soul ; 
and wherever he discovered the buddings and the burstings of superior 
talent, he had at command his word of encouragement, or his smile of 



THE CLASS-ROOM. 327 

approval. He was not lavish in his expressions of praise ; but his 
whole manner embodied more than words ; and it was only in those 
cases in which the proofs of neglect and idleness were too plain to be 
denied, that his fine open brow ever became darkened with a frown, 
aud that his utterance became more sharply pointed, and his words 
fell with a keener edge. 

" Dr. Henderson was a strict disciplinarian, and so far as his influ- 
ence reached, nothing was allowed to invade the majesty of law. He 
believed in God ; and therefore he believed in order. Yet this never 
chilled those warmer charities which have their seat and centre in the 
heart. He could love. He did love. I had more opportunities than 
many of seeing the purely human side of my friend — not the teacher, 
but the man. It so happened that during my stay at Hoxton, and not 
long before I left it, Mr. now Dr. Campbell paid his first visit to the 
metropolis, and through the kindness of Dr. Henderson, I was brought 
into close and frequent contact with this true son of Caledonia. The 
intercourse then commenced ripened into friendship, and that friend- 
ship has remained unbroken to the present hour. Mr. Campbell was 
often the guest of Dr. Henderson, and in their society, as well as in 
the society of other friends with whom the Doctor asked me to spend 
an evening now and then, I saw more and deeper into the heart of the 
man. JNor can I ever forget his sympathy and his solicitude, when 
from personal affliction I was compelled to vacate my seat, and close 
my book, and exchange the study for the chamber of sickness. His 
attentions and his kindness were unremitting, as were those of his 
estimable wife ; and when, at the bidding of medical authority, I left 
the college to return to Scotland, never can I lose the memory of that 
affectionate farewell with which he took leave of me, and with what 
holy fervour and love he commended me in prayer to God our 
Saviour. While there were those who thought him reserved and 
inaccessible, there were others, and these quite as numerous, who found 
their way to his affections, and in these affections they met with 
whatsover is pure, and warm, and genuine. As the stream which 
flows over a bed of shingle and of stone, gurgles and murmurs in its 
course, but runs smoothly and quietly when it has emptied itself into 
some deeper bed, so in the Doctor the absence of all outward affectation 
and pretence bespoke the depth of his feeling. A heart in which dwelt 
the love of God could not be a heart closed to human sympathy and 
human affection. Grant that his soul was in communion with God, 
and it must have been in communion with man ; and the very perfec- 
tion of all communion is heart flowing freely into heart. 

" But he has now exchanged the sympathies of earth for the wider 
and holier sympathies of heaven ; and the mingled fellowship of mind 



328 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

here for the perfect communion of thought there. His works follow 
him. We haye the monuments of his industry and the riper fruits of 
his scholarship. His publications are numerous ; and some of them 
are known and read in other lands as well as our own. On these his 
reputation mainly rests, and they have received the imprimatur of 
men who occupy the first and the highest walks in sacred literature. 
More than this : — there are those still living, on whom he has left his 
own mental impression, and to his training they are unspeakably in- 
debted. The benefits of his lessons they are still reaping, and his 
memory they can never cease to cherish and revere." 

It may be expected, as Dr. Henderson occupied at 
Hoxton the office of resident professor, that the domestic 
arrangements of the institution should come for a moment 
into view. Three times a day, the tutor and his family, 
with any visitors who might be with them, were accus- 
tomed to join the students ; namely, in the library at 
morning and evening prayer, and in the dining-room for 
the principal meal. At family-worship, Dr. Henderson 
undertook the one service, and the students in rotation 
conducted the other. Singing, reading, and prayer, were 
the constituent parts of each exercise. My father's suppli- 
cations at the domestic altar were usually brief, while at 
the same time sufficiently copious. They were never 
tedious, yet never hurried. They were chargeable neither 
with redundancy nor with omission. His petitions were 
wisely adapted to the varying circumstances that arose. 
His intercessory prayers were peculiarly noticeable for their 
fulness, comprehensiveness, and constancy. Never was 
there a case of sickness or sorrow in the house itself, or in 
any way connected with the interests of any one within 
its walls, which was not daily borne in remembrance, daily 
made mention of, until the dark cloud had either passed 
away, or else poured down its shower of blessing. 

At dinner, he sat at the bottom of the table with the 
junior students nearest him, while the seniors had their 



COLLEGE-LIFE. 329 

appropriate place toward the upper end of the room, next to 
the lady of the house and to her guests, or any missionary- 
visitors who might be sojourning beneath the roof. At 
this meal there was nothing of constraint, nothing of for- 
mality ; while yet it cannot be doubted that the presence 
of the entire family was likely to be beneficial as in some 
degree promotive of the courtesies and amenities of social 
life. Taken all in all, there was probably at Hoxton what 
may be deemed a happy medium between the resident and 
non-resident systems of college-life, uniting the benefits of 
each, without risking the disadvantages of either. Among 
the students there appeared to be much of a home-feeling, 
and much of truly fraternal intercourse. The number who 
were present at table, was usually too large to admit of 
general conversation; while yet from time to time it 
happened that some topic of peculiar interest would attract 
the attention of all. The mode of " returning thanks " at 
the close of the meal was peculiar. It was a literal carry- 
ing out of the phrase, " they did eat their meat with glad- 
ness and singleness of heart, praising God" Instead of 
bowing in an attitude of prayer, the students rose, and 
joined in singing the two following stanzas, penned by 
one of themselves : — 

" Father of mercies, God of grace ! 

In Thee our strength and refuge lies ; 

We bless Thy name — we sing Thy praise, 

Whose hand our every want supplies. 

" Our lives, our health, our all, are Thine, 
And we devote them to Thy praise ; 
Oh, fill our hearts with love divine, 
And teach and guide us in Thy ways." 

Allusion has been made to Missionary-guests. It was 
in consequence of an arrangement made by the Directors, 



TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

that a few spare-rooms were set apart in the College for 
the reception of missionaries and their families, just re- 
turned, or on the eve of embarkation, who needed a tem- 
porary abode in the metropolis. This was a plan which 
entailed on the heads of the household some additional 
care and thought ; but it was accompanied with its own 
reward. Many times the stranger suddenly arriving, 
proved to be the angel come unawares. To the tutor, it 
was a source of refreshment thus to form a high and holy 
friendship with those in whose work he felt so warm an 
interest. For the students, it was a manifest advantage 
that they were thus brought into contact with men who 
had trod a path similar to the one themselves were about 
to enter. The recruits had much to learn from the narra- 
tives and maxims of the veteran. Some of these worthy 
men remained but a night or two ; others, for a considerably 
longer term. But whether their stay had been short or 
protracted, they carried away with them a vivid recollec- 
tion of the zealous band whom they had seen eager to 
buckle on the armour. The late Rev. Henry Nott, the 
" venerable Apostle of Tahiti," when writing from Arue, 
sent them a cheering and affectionate message. The late 
Rev. J. J. Freeman, though he had been only a passing 
visitor, expressly said in one of his letters, " To all my 
brethren under your care, and particularly to my young 
friend Ketley, I beg to be very kindly remembered. They 
have a work before them, demanding every energy, and 
worthy of every exertion/' The words were few but full 
of meaning ; and coming from one who was known and 
loved, they must have been invested with additional 
force. 

Three French Missionaries were among the number 
thus helped on their way. Messrs. Roland, Bisseux, 



COLLEGE-VISITORS. 331 

and Lemue were agents of the Paris Missionary Society, 
and destined for South Africa. It was a beautiful letter 
which they brought with them, — a hearty and Christian- 
like, not a formal business-toned epistle of commendation ; 
and it proved that the welcome given by the London 
Society was fully appreciated. 

Paris, le 7 Mai, 1829. 

" Monsieur et tres-honore Frere, — Voici trois jeunes Chre- 
tiens, enroles sous la ban-mere de Christ, et destines par notre Comite 
a aller precher la croix du Sauveur au Sud de l'Afrique, que nous 
prenons la respectueuse liberte de recommander a votre fraternelle 
bienveillance. En leur ouvrant, pour une quinzaine de jours, l'entree 
de votre Maison, les Directeurs de la Societe des Missions de Londres 
out fait plus que de leur donner l'hospitalite pour le corps. Car ils 
les mettent a la source de beaucoup d'edification pour leur ame, 
et de beaucoup de lumieres et de conseils pour leur carriere future. 
Quel inappreciable avantage pour eux de passer le terns de leur 
sejour a Londres, sous votre toit, dans votre compagnie, dans la 
societe des Missionaires leurs compagnons-d'ceuvre futurs ! Daignez, 
Monsieur, leur servir de pere, d'ami, de conseiller. Ils sont jeunes 
et sans experience ; ils le sentent eux-memes ; aussi recevront-ils 
avec la plus grande joie et la plus vive reconnoissance les instructions 
et les avis que vous voudrez bien leur donner. 

" Nous contractons envers vous, Monsieur, une dette sacree, que 
nous ne savons point encore comment acquitter. Mais soyez assure 
que nos cceurs n'oublieront point ce que vous voudrez bien faire pour 
nos chers missionaires. 

" Daignez agreer, Monsieur et tres-honore frere, l'expression des 
sentimens de haute estime et d'affection chetienne, avec lesquels nous 
avons 1'honneur d'etre, 

" Vos tres-humbles et tres-obeissans serviteurs et freres, 

" Mons. le Docteur Henderson, etc * 

" a Londres." 

The three signatures appended are those of the President, 
Director, and Secretary. With the latter, the Rev. F. 
Monod, Dr. Henderson felt it a privilege to become 
acquainted in after years. The advantages which it was 
expected the three young Missionaries would receive from 



332 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

their companionship at Hoxton, proved to be mutual. 
There was an amiability in these foreign evangelists which 
secured the confidence and goodwill of their comrades ; 
and there was an earnest zeal, moreover, which sanctified 
the friendship, and rendered it a hallowed stimulus. 

Of those who passed from beneath the tutor's care, it 
would be out of place to speak. Many of them are still 
labouring abroad, a few have returned to fill spheres of 
usefulness at home, and others, like Mr. Jennings of 
Chittoor, and Mr. Henry Crisp of Salem, have made good 
proof of their ministry, and been early summoned to rest 
from their trials and their toils. There were none who 
failed to share in Dr. Henderson's remembrance. Whether 
they were stationed amid the kraals of Africa or the pagodas 
of China, whether they roamed amid the banians of India 
or the bread-fruit-trees of Polynesia, whether they found 
their home on the banks of the Essequibo or in the rising 
colonies of Australia, his thoughts still followed and his eye 
still watched them. Warm was the sympathy excited in 
his heart, as through public or private channels he re- 
ceived news from afar concerning all that occurred to re- 
joice or to sadden them. Such aid as he could render to 
any of them in after years was cheerfully granted. Mr. 
Dyer, when visiting England, had a conference with him 
on the subject of the Chinese versions. Mr. Buyers, when 
publishing a work on India, obtained a preface from his 
pen. These were exemplifications of his ordinary rule, and 
not exceptions to it. 

It is interesting to know, that in fulfilling the duties 
with which he was entrusted in this country, he was indi- 
rectly promoting the cause in which he had laboured when 
abroad. The service rendered to Missions was one that 
ultimately told on Bible-effort. The return, for example, of 



PULPIT-LABOURS. 333 

Mr. Buzacott to the South Seas — his freight of Rarotongan 
Scriptures — the public meeting convened to celebrate their 
arrival — the box of Bibles placed in the centre of the 
assembly— the speeches and rejoicings of the people,* — 
were like a recapitulation, in the pupil's life, of scenes 
which again and again had marked the instructor's 
career. 

Dr. Henderson, during his four years at Hoxton, was 
not shut out from pulpit-labour. In addition to the many 
ordination-services in which his official position necessitated 
his taking a part, he had preaching engagements on the 
Sabbath. These were often three times in the day, and 
often at three different sanctuaries. The distances he had 
to traverse were great, and at that period he always walked ; 
yet at the close of the day's labour he generally felt readier 
to undertake a fourth service than he had been to enter on 
the first. Ministers without a charge were not then super- 
abundant in the metropolis ; hence it was rarely that he 
had a Sabbath not filled with duties. There were forty 
places of worship in which he was a frequent, and (in 
some of them) a periodical supply. Two only of his ser- 
mons are known to have been printed. One was on 2 Tim. 
i. T,f a text on which he often dwelt; and few, perhaps, 
could with greater consistency than himself advert to the 
" spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." The 
other was on Micah vi. 6 — 8,J and was one of the nume- 
rous discourses wherein he adapted to the apprehension 
of the unlearned the results — the mere results— of that 
critical study and of those thorough-going investigations 



* Fiftieth Annual Report of the British and Foreign Society, p. cxvii. 
f Pulpit, No. 129, for Oct. 6, 1825. 

% In the second volume of a series of Sermons by Independent Ministers, 
but of which the exact title is not known. 



334: TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

which, in more erudite form, he has given to the learned 
world in the pages of his Commentary. 

His preaching was not such as is termed popular, but it 
was ordinarily acceptable. It did not arrest the fancy, but 
it satisfied the understanding, and it came home to the 
heart. Theoretically, he advocated the extempore mode. 
Practically, however, he found a necessity for reading or 
memorizing the greater part of his sermons. Long habitu- 
ation to speak in foreign languages had induced a seeking 
for words, which became apparent in hesitancy of utterance, 
especially at the outset. Conscious of this, he usually made 
his sermon-notes very full at the commencement, and 
sketch-like as they drew to a conclusion. Of three divisions, 
for example, the first would be complete ; the second, brief; 
and the third, merely outlined. His Scripture-citations 
were numerous, but always apposite. His discourses, 
though calm, were not cold ; their matter, though solid, 
was not heavy ; the manner of their delivery, though un- 
impassioned, was not unimpressive. Hence they were not 
destitute of that best evidence of worth, usefulness to the 
souls of men. 

Owing to the scattered localities and uncertain recurrence 
of his ministrations it could hardly be expected that this 
result should frequently come to his knowledge ; and yet 
it was by no means an uncommon case for the tidings to 
reach his ear. There were sinners awakened. One gentle- 
man, who heard him in a suburban chapel, refused to enter 
the place again because his pointed remarks were deemed 
personal. Nor was it credited that the preacher was an 
utter stranger to the true state of the case, till he had 
repeatedly averred it in an interview sought for the purpose, 
— an interview which he did not fail to turn to account by 
solemnly reminding the conscience-stricken sinner, that 



PULPIT-LABOURS. 335 

what had been unknown to him when he preached, had 
not been unknown to the God of Providence by whom he 
had been led to that pulpit, and led there, perhaps, for 
this very purpose, that the sleeper might no longer sleep 
in sin, but hear, and fear, and turn, and believe, and live. 
Awakened sinners were also led to the Saviour, and the 
wavering brought to decision. The following note from 
the venerable minister of Fetter Lane Chapel furnishes 
one instance of the kind : — 

Brunswick Square, July 19, 1828. 
"My dear Sir, — To-morrow I intend (D.V.) to mention, after 
my sermon on Titus i. 2, a few circumstances concerning the peace- 
ful and hopeful death of a young person of my congregation, not 
quite eighteen years old. Her mother informs me that the first serious 
impressions she received, were, she believed, under a sermon you 
preached at Fetter Lane in November, 1826, on ' Is there no balm 
in Gilead ?' etc. She wrote to her brother, then at school, about it; 
and it is hoped she derived lasting benefit from it. She has been ill 
(with a consumption) about four months ; and in her illness gave 
pleasing evidence of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, — exhorted her 
brother to regard religion, and desired her friends about her bed to 
sing a hymn, soon after which she quietly departed, we trust, to be 
with Jesus. 

" Knowing what pleasure and thankfulness it affords us to learn 

that we are useful, I send you this 

"I am, dear Sir, 

"Affectionately your's, 
(Signed) " Geo. Burder." 

Of all his sermons, the most useful was that on John 
vi. 37. He had, on one occasion, asked a young friend, 
one of his daughter's school-fellows, to choose a text for 
his next discourse at Claremont Chapel, of which her 
father was a deacon. She immediately selected the words, 
"Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out." 
There was no scope here for profound research, or laboured 
exposition. There was nothing to invite the philologist, 



TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

nothing to employ the powers of the commentator. But 
there was the fulness, and there was the freeness, of the 
gospel message in its heaven-like simplicity ; and the 
gospel-preacher could not refuse to take up the strain. 
The sermon was written ; it was preached ; it was 
hlessed. Again, and often, was it preached ; again, and 
often blessed. 

At the close of the year 1827, Dr. Henderson was placed 
on the Oriental Translation Committee of the Royal Asiatic 
Society; in connection with which, he was occasionally 
called on to give his opinion or advice on matters pertain- 
ing to Turkish scholarship. At this period, however, he 
had but little leisure for literary pursuits of any magni- 
tude. His official duties demanded his almost undivided 
attention. 

Some lighter labours now and then employed his pen, 
but they were only by way of interlude in the midst of his 
severer studies. An aged Christian woman in humble life, 
an inmate of Westley's Almshouses, Hoxton, was publish- 
ing a little series of original verses. It was not her first 
venture. Her "Female Missionary Advocate" had not 
been despised; her "Zamora" was a favourite with the 
young ; and now that she had prepared a third, she wished 
to have it ushered in with a few words of friendly com- 
mendation. An appeal to the tutor of the Mission Col- 
lege, to whose family she was no stranger, was not in vain. 
He would have been the last to encourage a vain-glorious 
attempt. In this case, it was not a thirst for fame, but a 
desire to be useful, which had swayed the writer's mind. 
Her simple lines were written, not for those in a higher 
station, but for those in her own grade of life. They were 
offered, not as poetry, but as verses which might infix 
wholesome truth upon the memory of the poor. Viewed 



CONGREGATIONAL MAGAZINE. 337 

in this light, the effort was praiseworthy ; the execution, 
moreover, was not contemptible. It was safe and wise, 
therefore, under such circumstances, to recommend the 
" Cottage Similes " for cottage distribution. 

To the Congregational Magazine, Dr. Henderson be- 
came a contributor, and occasionally furnished articles or 
reviews, drawn for the most part from materials that were 
lying ready for use. What were sent as letters or essays 
usually bore his signature or initials. The critiques were 
necessarily anonymous. There is one, however, which 
bears strong internal evidence of its authorship ; and ex- 
ternal testimony to corroborate the fact is not wanting. 
The review of Gesenius's Hebrew Lexicon, as edited by 
Gibbs (see the Magazine for January, 1828), contained a 
classification of the various Hebrseo-philological schools, 
with a succinct but clear unfolding of their distinctive 
principles. The original of this paper is found in the un- 
published work on " Biblical Translation," to which a 
reference has already been made. It may not be amiss to 
subjoin this portion. The text shall be taken from the 
Magazine, as having received slight emendations in the re- 
writing. The foot-references shall be added from the MS., 
since there may be some who will deem them acceptable. 

" Such as have never particularly directed their attention to the 
subject, can scarcely form any idea of the widely-diversified views 
that have been entertained respecting the only proper and legitimate 
methods by which to determine the true meaning of the words con- 
stituting the ancient language of the Hebrews. AVe shall, there- 
fore, here attempt a brief sketch of the different schools of Hebrew 
philology, in noticing the last of which, we shall naturally be led to 
advert more particularly to the work before us. 

" 1. The Rabbinical. This school, which is properly indigenous 
among the Jews, derives its acquaintance with the Hebrew from the 
tradition of the synagogue ; from the Chaldee Targums ; from the 
Talmud ; from the Arabic, which was the language of some of the 

z 



TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

most learned Rabbins ; and from conjectural interpretation. In this 
school, at one of its earlier periods, Jerome acquired his knowledge 
of the language ; and, on the revival of learning, our first Christian 
Hebraists in the West were also educated in it, having had none 
but Rabbins for their teachers. In consequence of this, the Jewish 
system of interpretation was introduced into the Christian Church 
by Reuchlin, Sebastian Munster, Sanctes Pagninus, and the elder 
Buxtorf,* and its principles still continue to exert a powerful and 
extensive influence through the medium of the grammatical and 
lexicographical works of the last-mentioned author, and the tinge 
which they gave to many parts of the Biblical translations executed 
immediately after the Reformation. 

" 2. The Forsterian school, founded about the middle of the six- 
teenth century by John Forster,t a scholar of Reuchlin's, and Pro- 
fessor in Tubingen and Wittenberg. This author entirely rejected 
the authority of the Rabbins ; and not being aware of the use to be 
made of the versions and cognate dialects, laid it down as an incon- 
trovertible principle of Hebrew philology, that a perfect knowledge 
of the language is to be derived from the sacred text alone, by con- 
sulting the connection, comparing the parallel passages, and trans- 
posing and changing the Hebrew letters, especially such as are 
similar in figure. His system was either wholly adopted and ex- 
tended, or in part followed by Bohl, Gusset, Driessen, Stock, and 
others, whose lexicons all proceed on this self-interpreting principle ;J 
but its insufficiency has been shown by J. D. Michaelis in his ' In- 
vestigation of the means to be employed in order to attain to a 
knowledge of the dead language of the Hebrews,' and by Bauer, in 
his Hermeneut. V. T. 

" 3. The Avenarian school, which proceeds on the principle, that 
the Hebrew, being the primitive language from which all others 
have been derived, may be explained by aid of the Greek, Latin, 

* Reuchlin's Rudimenta linguae, hebraicce una cum lexico. Basil, 1506, 

fol. — S. Munsteri Liber grammatics et omnium vocum, quae in lingua sancta 

eperiuntur. Basil, 1537. — Lexicon hebr ceo -chaldaicum. Basil, 1523, 8vo. — 

S. Pagnini Thesaurus linguae sanctce, etc. Lugd. 1529, fol. — Buxtorfii 

Lexicon hebraicum et chaldaicum. Basil, 1607. fol. 

f Johannis Forsterii Diet. Hebr. novum, non ex Rabbinorum commentis, 
nee nostratium Doctorum stulta imitatione descriptum, sed ex ipsis thesauris 
s. Bibliomm — depromtum. Basil, 1557, fol. 

X Samuelis Bohlii Dissertt. xii pro formali significations S. S. eruenda. 
Rostoc, 1637. — Gussetii Commentarius linguae hebraicce. Amst. 1702, fol. 
— Driessenii Dissertatio de veris causis et auxiliis, interpretandi linguam 
hebr. Biblicam. 1736. — Stockii Clavis linguae sanetae V. T. Jense. 1717, 8vo. 



CONGREGATIONAL MAGAZINE. 339 

German, English, etc. Its founder, John Avenarius,* Professor at 
Wittenberg, has had but few followers ; but among these we may 
reckon the eccentric Hermann Van der Hardt,f who attempted to 
derive the Hebrew from the Greek, which he regarded as the most 
ancient of all tongues. 

" 4. The Hieroglyphic, or Cabbalistic system, long in vogue among 
the Jews, but first introduced into Christendom by Caspar Neu- 
mann4 Professor at Breslau. It consists in attaching certain mys- 
tical and hieroglyphical powers to the different letters of the Hebrew 
alphabet, and determining the signification of the words according 
to the position occupied by each letter. This ridiculously absurd 
hypothesis was ably refuted by the learned Christ. Bened. Michaelis 
in a Dissertation § printed at Halle, 1709, in 4to, and has scarcely 
had any abettors : but recently it has been revived by a French 
academician, whose work on the subject exhibits a perfect anomaly 
in modern literature. Its title is ' La Langue Hebraique Bestituee, 
et le veritable sens des mots Hebreux retabli et prouve par leur 
analyse radieale.* Par Fabre D'Olivet, a Paris, 1815,' 4to. Accord- 
ing to this author, x is the sign of power and stability ; a of pater- 
nity and virility ; 3 of organic or material development ; 1 of divisible 
or divided nature ; 1 a most mysterious sign, expressive of the con- 
nection between being and non-entity, etc. The following specimens 
of M. D'Olivet's own English version, taken at random from the 
second volume, will fill our readers with astonishment at the per- 
version they display, no less of the powers of the human mind, than 
of the true principles of language, and of the Scriptures of truth. 

"'Gen. ii. 8. And-he-appointed, IHOHA, He-the-Gods, an-inclosure 
(an organical boundary) in-the-temporal-and-sensible-sphere extraeted- 
from-the-boundless-and-foregoing (time), and-he-laid-up there that-same 
-Adam whom-he-had-framed-for-ever. 

'"10. And-a-flowing-effluence (an emanation) was-running from-this- 
temporal-and-sensible-place, for-bedewing that-same-organic-enclosure ; 
and -thence it-was-dividing in-order-to-be-henceforth-suitable to-the- 
four-fold-generative power. 

" ' 22. And-he-restored (in its former state) IHOHA, HE-the-Being- 



* Avenarii (J.) Liber radieum. 1568, fol. 

t Hermanni Van der Hardt Dissert, de Grcecce et Orientalium Mnguarum 
harmonia. Helmstadt, 1714. 

X Neumanni Clavis Domus Hebr. Norimb. 1712 — 15, 4to. 

§ Christ. Bened. Michaelis Dissertat. philol. qua nova hypothesis etymo- 
logica Hebrcea de vocum seminibus ae litterarum significatione hieroglyphica 
modeste expenditur. Halse. 170§, 4to. 



340 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

of-beings, the-self-sameness-of-the-sheltering- windings which-he-had- 
broken from-Adam (the collective man) for (shaping) Aishah (the intellec- 
tual woman, man's faculty of volition), and-he-brought-her to-Adam. 

"*vi. 9. These-are the-symbolical-progenies oi-Noah ; Noah, intellec- 
tual-principle, right-proving-of-universal-accomplishments was-he, in- 
the-periods-his-own ; together- with-him-the-Gods, he-applied-himself- 
to-walk, Noah. 

" * x. 30. And-such-was the-restoring-place-of-them, from-harvest- 
spiritual-fruits, by-dint of-spiritual-contriving, to-the-height of-pristine- 
time.' 

Having perused these delectable portions of the translation, which 
no language but the English was found capable of expressing, our 
readers will be fully prepared to do justice to the assertions of M. 
D'Olivet, ' that the Hebrew language ' (which he considers to be the 
ancient Egyptian) ' has long been lost ; that the Bible w r e possess is 
far from being an exact translation of the Sepher of Moses ; that 
the greater part of the vulgar translations are false ; and that, to 
restore the language of Moses to its proper grammar, we shall be 
obliged violently to shock those scientific and religious prejudices, 
which habit, pride, interest, and respect for ancient errors, have 
combined to consecrate, confirm, and guard !' 

" 5. The Hutehinsonian school, founded by John Hutchinson,* 
(originally steward to the Duke of Somerset, and afterwards Master 
of the Horse to George I.), who maintained that the Hebrew Scrip- 
tures contained the true principles of philosophy and natural history; 
and that, as natural objects are representative of such as are spiritual 
and invisible, the Hebrew words are to be explained in reference to 
these sublime objects. His principles pervade the Lexicons of Bates 
and Parkhurst ; but, though they have been embraced by several 
learned men in this country, they are now generally scouted, and 
have never been adopted, as far as we know, by any of the Conti- 
nental philologists. The disciples of this school are violent anti- 
punctists. 

" 6. The Cocceian or polydunamic hypothesis, according to which 
the Hebrew words are to be interpreted in every way consistent 
with their etymological import, or, as it has been expressed, in every 
sense of which they are capable. Its author, John Cocceius,f a learned 
Dutch divine, regarded everything in the Old Testament as typical 

* Hutchinson's Moses's Principia. London, 1724, 8vo. 

f Cocceii Lexicon et Commentarius Serm. Hebr. Lugd. Bat./ 1699, fol. 
(Edited afresh by J. H. Maius, Francf., 1714, fol. And again with many 
improvements by J. C. E. Schulz, Lips., 1777, 1795, '96. In 2 vols. 8vo). 



CONGREGATIONAL MAGAZINE. 341 

of Christ, or of His church, and her enemies ; and the lengths to 
which he carried his views on this subject, considerably influenced 
the interpretations given in his Hebrew Lexicon, which is, never- 
theless, a work of no ordinary merit. This system has been recently 
followed by Mr. Von Meyer of Frankfort, in his Improved Version 
of the Holy Scriptures with Short Notes. 

" 7. The Schidtensian school, by which, to a certain extent, a new 
epoch was formed in Hebrew philology. Albert Schultens,* pro- 
fessor of the Oriental languages at Leyden, was enabled, by his 
profound knowledge of Arabic, to throw light on many obscure pas- 
sages of Scripture, especially on the Book of Job ; but, carrying his 
theory so far as to maintain, that the only sure method of fixing the 
primitive significations of the Hebrew words is to determine what 
are the radical ideas attaching to the same words, or words made up 
of the same letters in Arabic, and then to transfer the meaning from 
the latter to the former, a wide door was opened for speculative and 
fanciful interpretation ; and the greater number of the derivations, 
proposed by this celebrated philologist and his admirers, have been 
rejected, as altogether untenable, by the first Hebrew scholars, both 
in our own country and on the Continent. The great faults of the 
system consisted in the disproportionate use of the Arabic to the 
neglect of the other cognate dialects, especially the Syriac, which, 
being the most closely related, ought to have the primary place 
allotted to it ; want of due attention to the context ; an inordinate 
fondness for emphases ; and far-fetched etymological hypotheses and 
combinations. t 

"8. The last school of Hebrew philology is that of Halle, so called 
from the German University of this name, where most of the Hebrew 
scholars have received their education, or resided, by whom its distin- 
guishing principles have been originated, and brought to their present 
advanced state of maturity. Its foundation was laid by J. H. and 
Ch. B. Michaelis, and the superstructure has been carried up by 
J. D. Michaelis, Simon, Eichhorn, Dindorf, Schnurrer, Rosenmuller, 
and Gesenius, the author of the Lexicon before us, who is allowed 
to be the first Hebraist of the present day. 

" The grand object of this school is to combine all the different 



* Albertus Schultens De TJtilitate ling. arab. in interpretanda S.S., 
1706. De defectibus hodiernis lingua Hebr. 1733. Vetus et regia via 
hebraizandi, etc. Lugd. Bat., 1738, 4to. OHgines Hebrcece. Pt. I., 1723 ; 
Pt. II., 1737. 

f See Dr. Laurence's Remarks on the Critical Principles, efc.,p.l33, and 
Gesenius' s Geschichte der hebrdischen Sprache, p. 128. 



342 TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

methods* by which it is possible to arrive at a correct and indubit- 
able knowledge of the Hebrew language, as contained in the Scrip- 
tures of the Old Testament, — allotting to each of the subsidiary- 
means its relative value and authority, and proceeding in the appli- 
cation of the whole, according to sober and well-matured principles 
of interpretation. 

" The first of these means is the study of the language itself, as 
contained in the books of the Old Testament. Though by some 
carried to an unwarrantable length, it cannot admit of a doubt, that 
this must ever form the grand basis of Scripture interpretation. 
Difficulties may be encountered at the commencement; but when, 
as we proceed, we find from the subject-matter, from the design of 
the speaker or writer, and from other adjuncts, that the sense we 
have been taught to affix to the words must be the true one, we feel 
ourselves possessed of a key, which, as far as it goes, we may safely 
and confidently apply to unlock the sacred writings. When, how- 
ever, the signification of a word cannot be determined by the simple 
study of the original Hebrew, recourse must then be had to the ancient 
versions, the authors of most of which, living near the time when 
the language was spoken in its purity, and being necessarily familiar 
with Oriental scenes and customs, must be regarded as having fur- 
nished us with the most important and valuable of all the subsidiary 
means, by which to ascertain the sense in cases of aTrag Xeryo/meva, 
words or phrases of rare occurrence, or connections which throw no 
light on the meaning. Yet in the use of these versions, care must 
be taken not to employ them exclusively, nor merely to consult one 
or two of them to the neglect of the rest. It must also be ascer- 
tained, that their text is critically correct, in so far as the passage 
to be consulted is concerned ; and the Biblical student must not be 
satisfied with simply guessing at their meaning, or supposing that 
they either confirm or desert what he may have been led to regard 
as the sense of the original ; but must be practically acquainted with 
the established usage obtaining in each version, and the particular 
character of their different renderings. The Rabbinical Lexicons and 
Commentaries furnish the next source of Hebrew interpretation. Not 
that this is to be admitted as aprincipium cognoscendi, or an infallible 
criterion, by which to judge of the true signification of Hebrew words ; 
but considering that the Rabbins of the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth 
centuries, whose works alone are here taken into account, pos- 
sessed a knowledge of the Arabic as their vernacular language, or 

* See Preface to Gesenius's Hebra'isches und Chalda'isches Handworterbuch. 
Leipsig, 1823, 8vo. 



CONGREGATIONAL MAGAZINE. 343 

one in which at least they were well versed ; that they were familiar 
with the traditional interpretation of the synagogue, as contained in 
the Talmud and other ancient Jewish writings, or transmitted through 
the medium of oral communication ; and that they were mostly men 
of great learning, who rose superior to the trammels of tradition, 
and did not scruple to give their own views respecting the meaning 
of certain words and phrases in opposition to the voice of antiquity, 
— it must be conceded that no small degree of philological aid may 
reasonably be expected from their writings. 

" The last means consists in a proper use of the cognate dialects. 
These are the Chaldee, Syriac, Arabic, Ethiopic, Samaritan, Phoeni- 
cian, and the" Talmudical Hebrew. All these dialects possess to a 
great extent, in common with the Hebrew, the same radical words, 
the same derivatives, the same mode of derivation, the same forms, 
the same grammatical structure, the same phrases or modes of ex- 
pression, and the same (or nearly the same) signification of words. 
They chiefly differ in regard to accentuation, the use of the vowels, 
the transmutation of consonants of the same class, the extent of sig- 
nification in which certain words are used, and the peculiar appro- 
priation of certain words, significations, and modes of speech, which 
are exhibited in one dialect to the exclusion of the rest. These 
languages, when judiciously applied to the illustration of the Hebrew 
Scriptures, are useful in many ways. They confirm the precise sig- 
nification of words, both radicals and derivatives, already ascertained 
and adopted from other sources. They discover many roots or primi- 
tives, the derivatives only of which occur in the Hebrew Bible. 
They are of eminent service in helping to a knowledge of such 
words as occur but once, or at least but seldom, in the sacred writ- 
ings ; and they throw much light on the meaning of phrases, or 
idiomatical combinations of words, — such combinations being natural 
to them all as branches of the same stock, or to some of them in 
common in consequence of certain more remote affinities. 

" It is to the superiority, which the school of Halle has attained 
in the combined application of these different means to the interpre- 
tation of the Hebrew Bible, that we are indebted for the valuable 
Lexicon, to which we would now particularly solicit the attention 
of our readers. Dr. Gesenius, the author of the German works from 
which this Lexicon has been edited, is Professor of Divinity at the 
University of Halle, and has, by the improvements which he has 
introduced into Hebrew philology, brought about a new era in this 
department — an era in which, it is probable, a more radical and ex- 
tensive knowledge of the language will be attained than has been 
since it ceased to be vernacular," ...... 



34:4: TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

Every student finds his path crossed by a strange suc- 
cession of the grave and the gay, the solid and the sportive. 
He meets with " curiosities of literature " at every turn he 
takes ; and where his judgment pronounces the flowers 
wild and worthless, yet as long as they are not poisonous, 
he may allow his fancy for a moment to disport itself amid 
their variegated hues, or to trace with wonder their un- 
checked luxuriance. In the Magazine for January, 1831, 
we accordingly find an article entitled " The Jewish origin 
of the celebrated popular legend, ' The House that Jack 
Built.' " Such as have never met with it, may take an 
interest in finding it here transcribed : — 

" As the occupations and pleasures of childhood produce a power- 
ful impression on the memory, it is probable that almost every reader 
who has passed his infantile days in an English nursery, recollects 
the delight with which he repeated that puerile jingling legend, 
' The House that Jack Built.' Very few, however, are at all aware 
of the original form of its composition, or the particular subject it 
was designed to illustrate. And fewer still would suspect that it is 
only an accommodated and altered translation of an ancient para- 
bolic hymn sung by the Jews at the feast of passover, and com- 
memorating the principal events in the history of that people. Yet 
such is actually the fact. The original in the Chaldee language is 
now lying before me ; and as it may not be uninteresting to the 
readers of the Congregational Magazine, I will here furnish them 
with a literal translation of it, and then add the interpretation of it 
as given by P. N. Leberecht, Leipsic, 1731. The hymn itself is 
found in Sepher Haggadah, fol. 23. 

" 1. A kid, a kid, my father bought, 
For two pieces of money ; 

A kid, a kid. 

"2. Then came the cat, and ate the kid, 
That my father bought 
For two pieces of money ; 

A kid, a kid. 

" 3. Then came the dog, and bit the cat, 
That ate the kid, 



CONGREGATIONAL MAGAZINE. 345 

That my father bought 
For two pieces of money ; 

A kid, a kid. 

4. Then came the staff, and beat the dog, 
That bit the cat, 

That ate the kid, 
That my father bought 
For two pieces of money ; 

A kid, a kid. 

5. Then came the^re, and burned the staff, 
That beat the dog, 

That bit the cat, 
That ate the kid, 
That my father bought 
For two pieces of money ; 

A kid, a kid. 

6. Then came the water, and quenched the fire, 
That burned the staff, 

That beat the dog, 
That bit the cat, 
That ate the kid, 
That my father bought 
For two pieces of money ; 

A kid, a kid. 

7. Then came the ox, and drank the water, 
That quenched the fire, 

That burned the staff, 
That beat the dog, 
That bit the cat, 
That ate the kid, 
That my father bought 
For two pieces of money ; 

A kid, a kid. 

8. Then came the butcher, and slew the ox, 
That drank the water, 

That quenched the fire, 
That burned the staff, 
That beat the dog, 
That bit the cat, 
That ate the kid, 
That my father bought 
For two pieces of money ; 

A kid, a kid. 



TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

"9. Then came the angel of death, and killed the butcher, 
That slew the ox, 
That drank the water, 
That quenched the fire, 
That burned the staff, 
That beat the dog, 
That bit the cat, 
That ate the kid, 
That my father bought 
For two pieces of money ; 

A kid, a kid. 

11 10. Then came The Holy One (blessed be He), 
And killed the angel of death, 
That killed the butcher, 
That slew the ox, 
That drank the water, 
That quenched the fire, 
That burned the staff, 
That beat the dog, 
That bit the cat, 
That ate the kid, 
That my father bought 
For two pieces of money ; 

A kid, a kid. 

"The following is the interpretation. 1. The kid, which was one 
of the pure animals, denotes the Hebrews. The father, by whom it 
was purchased, is Jehovah, who represents himself as sustaining this 
relation to the Hebrew nation. The two pieces of money signify 
Moses and Aaron, through whose mediation the Hebrews were 
brought out of Egypt. 2. The cat denotes the Assyrians, by whom 
the ten tribes were carried into captivity. 3. The dog is symbolical 
of the Babylonians. 4. The staff signifies the Persians. 5. The fire 
indicates the Grecian empire under Alexander the Great. 6. The 
water betokens the Roman, or fourth of the great monarchies to 
whose dominion the Jews were subjected. 7. The ox is a symbol 
of the Saracens, who subdued Palestine, and brought it under the 
chaliphate. 8. The butcher that killed the ox denotes the Crusaders, 
by whom the Holy Land was wrested out of the hands of the 
Saracens. 9. The angel of death signifies the Turkish power, by 
which the land of Palestine was taken from the Franks, and to which 
it is still subject. 10. The commencement of the tenth stanza is 
designed to show that God will take signal vengeance on the Turks, 



HOXTON AND HIGHBURY. 347 

immediately after whose overthrow the Jews are to be restored to 
their own land, and live under the government of their long-expected 
Messiah. 

" Canonbury Square, Dec. 1830. E. H." * 

The date and residence, appended to the above, mark 
it to have been subsequent to the removal from Hoxton. 
The course of the narrative must, therefore, be here resumed. 

During a portion of the year 1829, Dr. Henderson had 
consented to undertake the theological lectureship at 
Highbury, the Rev. W. Harris, D.D., who then held the 
post of tutor, being laid aside by illness. His morning- 
hours were consequently devoted to his charge at Hoxton ; 
the noon and early afternoon, to the students at the 
ministerial college. The labour was arduous ; but the 
interval employed in walking to and fro proved a season- 
able and healthful refreshment, while the pure air of what 
were then the open fields of Canonbury, and the verdant 
hedgerows of Highbury Grove, formed a pleasant contrast 
to the smoky atmosphere that environed his dwelling-place. 
The decease of Dr. William Harris subsequently necessitated 
a different arrangement. It was proposed that the services, 
which had proved acceptable when only partially and 
temporarily rendered, should be secured in full and for a 
permanence. The wishes of the Committee were conveyed 
in a letter from the Treasurer, Thomas Wilson, Esq., under 
date of Feb. 27, 1830. 

Dr. Henderson saw his way plain to accept the call. 
Not only did it open to him a wider sphere, but it came 

* The above was extracted in the next ensuing number of the Christian 
Reformer, or New Evangelical Miscellany, vol. xvii. (1831), p. 28. From 
this source it was copied by Halliwell in his "Nursery Rhymes of 
England ;" and from the latter volume it was cited, with a few additional 
remarks on the Scottish form of the legend, in " Chambers's Edinburgh 
Journal," No. 573, Jan. 21, 1843. 



TUTORSHIP AT HOXTON. 

opportunely as regarded the close of his then-subsisting 
engagement. He had no conflict of spirit, no hesitancy of 
mind; for he knew that the Missionary Directors were 
contemplating the discontinuance of their institution. The 
number of candidates for admission had not increased in 
such proportion as to warrant the outlay incurred ; while, 
on the other hand, the different ministerial colleges were 
disposed to facilitate the entrance of Missionary-students 
within their walls. Under such circumstances, a separate 
Academy was deemed unnecessary, and therefore unwise. 
It would be a hard matter to say, whether those who were 
destined for foreign lands, suffered any material loss by the 
change. When enjoying less of special training and of 
special confraternity, they might lose somewhat of a bene- 
ficial impulse ; and those who were so soon to resign their 
Christian privileges, had no small need of the strengthening 
influences which a sanctified brotherly fellowship exerts. 
On the other hand, their separation might prove a fitter 
test of character. The zeal, which could not persevere 
without such outward excitation, would soon have been 
chilled and deadened amid the dark shadows of benighted 
heathendom. 

It is easier to draw a conclusion as to the influence which 
this movement was calculated to have on the ministers who 
were to find their charge at home. Their college acquaint- 
ance with some who were appointed to go forth as heralds 
of the cross in distant lands, could not but tend to create in 
their minds a deeper and more enduring personal interest in 
the work of foreign evangelization. Such a feeling Dr. Hen- 
derson delighted to promote. He never forgot at Highbury 
that he had been tutor at Hoxton. It was seldom that he 
had not Missionary-students in one or other of his classes. 
Over all such he kept a jealous watch, lest their pulpit- 



HOXTON AND HIGHBURY. 349 

popularity should tempt them to retract their pledge, and 
withdraw their hand from the plough. For the benefit 
of such he was always ready to spare an extra hour, if 
tuition in some Oriental language might be of profit to 
them in their future career. In India and China are to 
be found the alumni of both Colleges ; and if in Demerara 
lies a Lewis, there rises also amid the " flowery vales" and 
shadowing palm-trees of Raiateia the " thrice-honoured " 
grave of a Loxton.* 

* See Rev. TV". Ellis's Christian Keepsake and Missionary Annual (for 
1837), pp. 101—104. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Tutorship at Highbury. (1830 — 1850.) 

" Kcu & ¥iKOV<ras ... 5m iroAAwv fxaprvpoov, ravra irapddov m<?Tols avdpcbirois, 
o'trives Itcavol eaourai kcu erzpovs St5a|cu." — 2 TlM. ii. 2. 

An important difference between Dr. Henderson's present 
engagement and his former one, consisted in the fact that 
he no longer held a resident tutorship. While his friend, 
the Rev. Robert Halley, D.D, presided over the internal 
discipline of the College, his own duties lay wholly in the 
class-room. Having met with a suitable abode at Canon- 
bury, he removed into it in the spring of 1830. Three of 
the Mission-students kindly proved their attachment by 
volunteering to aid in the removal of his books. His 
library was at this time in its greatest glory. His study, 
the largest room in the house, was entirely lined with 
volumes. They were all of real worth. They were not 
set in fair array on well-filled shelves to make a show. 
They were the authorities which he consulted, the treasu- 
ries from which he drew, the tools wherewith he worked. 
The folios, quartos, and octavos, bore a silent testimony to 
the characteristics and tastes of their owner. Here was a 
whole compartment, filled with different versions and edi- 
tions of The Book which he had once laboured to circulate, 
which he still delighted to study, and which was afterwards 
to furnish the chosen theme of his commentaries. Grammars 



BOOKS. 351 

and Lexicons, in rich variety, betokened the philologist. 
" Scholia " and " Einleitungen," choice and numerous, be- 
spoke the Biblical critic. Talmuds and Targums denoted 
an acquaintance with Rabbinical lore. Writings on divinity, 
whether polemic or systematic, evidenced the pursuits of the 
theologian. Encyclopaedias — the Britannica and Americana 
—supplied the place of scientific works, or guided to such 
as might elsewhere be examined. Of Histories there 
were few, except in the ecclesiastical department. The 
classic authors were not very numerously represented. 
Of poetry there was a dearth, Shakspeare and Milton, 
Young and Cowper, forming the sum-total. To poetic 
sentiment, Dr. Henderson was no stranger; and of poetic 
diction, he was not a mean judge : — but he had neither a 
poet's soaring imagination, nor a poet's musical ear ; and 
these latter qualities are as essential as the former to a 
thorough appreciation and enjoyment of the Muse's strain. 
Of light reading his library contained little, and that 
only in the form of biographies and travels. Works of 
fiction were entirely ignored. He had neither time to 
read, nor inclination to acquire, nor room wherein to store 
them. In his younger days there had been very few which 
were worth a perusal. It was during his residence abroad, 
that his countryman, " the great unknown," had taken the 
first steps in that literary career which so greatly revolu- 
tionized the novel-writing and novel-reading world. It was 
during the years of his intensest devotion to study, that the 
w r onderful transmutation was gradually effected. That he 
eschewed such publications arose not in him from any 
blind prejudice, but from a jealous and not ill-grounded 
fear lest the time should be frittered away, on comparatively 
idle reading, which ought to be redeemed for higher and 
nobler ends. 



352 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

He gleaned a knowledge of the current literature of the 
day by means of the volumes obtained through the medium 
either of reading-societies or of circulating libraries. But 
such books were never allowed to trench on his hours of 
work. They were the companions only of his leisure- 
moments. He would bring them to the breakfast or tea 
table, though he never allowed them to be a bar to social 
intercourse. If conversation arose, he took a part in it, and 
always evinced a lively interest in what had been going 
on, whether in-doors or out-of-doors. But if nought of new 
had transpired, and nought of interest had to be narrated 
or discussed, he would turn to the volume at his side. 

His was no selfish love of reading. " That lamp is none 
the less bright," was one of his early lessons to his child, 
"none the less bright for its having lit your candle; just 
so with our knowledge ; it is not made one whit the less, 
when we help others to share it." This was a saying 
which his conduct never belied. His books were freely 
accessible to every one beneath his roof. He delighted to 
see them in request. Even when it was discovered, by a 
paper left in one of the volumes, that a servant had been 
consulting Scott's Commentary, he only smiled at the ap- 
propriateness of the selection, and inwardly rejoiced in the 
manifest token for good. 

His study was never constituted an unapproachable 
sanctum. The members of his family could gain access at 
any hour ; and the help they craved from him, be it what 
it might, great or small, manual or mental, was as cordially 
as it was effectively rendered. To receive visits of mere 
courtesy was an effort which he evaded, when practicable. 
Business-callers were never unwelcome ; and to no one, 
who had an upright errand, was turned either a deaf or 
an impatient ear. Literary visitors made frequent demands 



FRIENDS. o53 

upon his time, but he felt that such hours were well-spent. 
To some, he could render assistance. From others, he 
could receive it. In many cases, the aid was mutual. 
Among those who could most fully enter with him into 
critical matters pertaining to sacred lore, was the learned 
Dr. Bloomfield, so well known for his annotated editions 
of the Greek Testament. The acquaintance was founded 
on mutual esteem, aud was perpetuated through a long 
series of years.* 

Dr. Henderson's hospitalities were mostly to foreigners ; 
for he knew " the heart of a stranger." Many were the 
literati who came to him with introductions from abroad ; 
and it was no unusual thing to see one or other at his table. 
Professors Sack, Scholz, and Tholuck — Park, and Robin- 
son, and Edwards — with many more, especially from the 
Western hemisphere, granted him the pleasure of their 
society for a few hours of profitable intercourse. Men whom 
he had long held in esteem, he w r as privileged to recognise 
as friends. From distant parts of England, also, he had 
" the excellent of the earth" to visit him. One who came 
with almost unfailing regularity, whenever business brought 
him to town, was the Rev. Joseph Kinghorn. Though he 
was the senior by nearly twenty years, and though he 
had begun to study Kennicott before the little inmate of 
the Linn could have known ' f aT from a craw's tae," 
yet it was to Dr. Henderson that the Norwich patriarch 



* The above-named clergyman, in the Preface to his Edition of Robin- 
son's New Testament Lexicon (1837), kindly takes occasion (p. xviii.) to 
express himself in very complimentary terms in reference to my father's 
"Lectures on Inspiration," as containing "that rare admixture of great 
learning and extensive research, with unaffected modesty, and candour, 
and deep spirituality, — of enlightened views with soundness of doctrine, 
and sobriety of thought, — which reminds us of the good old times of our 
Theology, when ' there were giants in the land.' " 
v 2 A 



354 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

was wont to bring all his difficulties in Hebrew or Rabbi- 
nical lore. No sooner had he exchanged the first words of 
greeting, and satisfied himself that all was well, than his 
hand was in his waistcoat-pocket, whence it speedily pro- 
duced the little red memorandum-book with its list of que- 
ries which were then and there to be proposed. When din- 
ner was announced, the visitor, after seating himself at the 
table, would endeavour with his usual kindliness to change 
the key, and to bring down his remarks to a theme more 
congruous to the domestic circle. Before he was aware, 
his host would lead him back to the regions of criticism. 
Presently he would apologize as if the fault — if fault it 
were — had been his own ; and when he was told that no- 
thing could afford greater pleasure than to hear such topics 
discussed, the assurance seemed to give him untold relief. 
" Well," he said, " if we may have beef and grammar 
together, will you favour me, Dr. Henderson, with your 
view of (such and such a point) ?" The answers were 
given with a readiness that might well have surprised a 
stranger ; and not less noticeable was the promptitude with 
which any requisite authority could be taken down from 
the shelf, and the finger laid in a moment on the passage 
that would supply the needed information. 

The fruits of Dr. Henderson's intentness in study became 
increasingly apparent. The preparation of his Theological 
Lectures for the students at Hoxton, had led him to make 
a critical investigation of the proof-texts which are usually 
adduced on the subject of our Lord's Divinity. The cele- 
brated passage, 1 Tim. iii. 16, had necessarily come under 
review ; and the authorities on the integrity or incorrect- 
ness of the received text had been carefully weighed. 
Very shortly afterwards, the Socinians — (such was the 
only name he thought it right to concede to them) — put 



THE "MYSTERY OF GODLINESS." 355 

forth a new edition of Sir Isaac Newton's " Historical 
Account of two notable corruptions of Scripture/' wherein 
that writer treats of the Greek text in 1 John v. 7, as well 
as in the passage above-indicated. Dr. Henderson had 
become fully convinced of the genuineness of the Textus 
Receptus in this latter instance ; and, anxious to vindicate 
the truth against the renewed attacks of its enemies, he 
resolved to publish a treatise on the subject. To this end, 
he pursued his researches with diligence, gained access to 
MSS. in the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth, and in- 
spected not a few in the British Museum. He made 
known the result in a work now out of print.* After a 
few remarks, designed to clear the memory of the great 
philosopher from the charge of participation in the doc- 
trinal views of the party who were thus constituting him 
their champion, Dr. Henderson introduces his subject : — 

" The passage to the examination of which the following pages 
are devoted, has ever been regarded as one of the most interesting 
and beautiful to be met with in the New Testament. While the 
truths which it predicates are confessedly of the highest importance, 
and justly entitle it to a prominent place in the minds of all who 
receive the Christian revelation, the language in which they are 
announced is so measured and terse, that the place has been con- 
sidered by some as exhibiting a stanza of one of the primitive hymns. 
Divided into lines, according to the several propositions of which it 
consists, it appears thus : — 

" God was 

" Manifested in the fiesh, 
" Justified in the spirit, 
" Seen by the angels, 
"Proclaimed among the heathen, 
" Believed on in the world, 
"Received up into glory. 

* " The Great Mystery of Godliness incontrovertible ; or, Sir Isaac 
Newton and the Socinians foiled in the attempt to prove a corruption in 
the text, 1 Tim. iii. 16." By E. Henderson, professor of Divinity, etc. 
London, 8vo, 1830, pp. 96. 



356 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

" Considering the circumstances, that Timothy was resident at 
Ephesus at the time the epistle was addressed to him ; that this 
city was celebrated for the number of its pillars and inscriptions; 
and that the apostle had just represented the Christian Church as 
the column and basis of the truth, nothing can be more natural 
than the supposition that he continues the figure in the sixteenth 
verse, and represents the sum and substance of the gospel as an in- 
scription engraven on that pillar for the purpose of luminous ex- 
hibition to the world. JNot only was it common in ancient times 
to transmit histories and laws in this way to posterity, but the 
principles of science and precepts of primary utility in the govern- 
ment of human life were thus inscribed on columns, that they might 
be read by those who passed by, and be preserved for the benefit of 
future ages. 

" Precisely such a purpose has the apostolic inscription served for 
the long period of seventeen centuries. It has held forth to the 
view of all, the grand fundamental principles of the Christian belief; 
— the humiliation, triumph, and exaltation of the Messiah, and the 
early and speedy extension of His kingdom. Like other monuments 
of antiquity, however, it has not altogether escaped the mutilating 
hand of time, and the initial word has not a little exercised the in- 
genuity and skill of such as have addicted themselves to the study 
of sacred criticism." — Pages 4, 5. 

To the examination of that one word, the remainder of 
the work is devoted. The supposed historic evidence of 
falsification is first disposed of. The critical remarks which 
ensue, have respect to the external and internal evidence 
in favour of the various readings. These readings are three 
in number : l O, 'OC, and GC. The first of these brings 
out the sense, " the mystery of godliness which was mani- 
fest in the flesh." The second, " he who was manifest in 
the flesh." The third, as in our English version, " God 
was manifest in the flesh." The authorities in favour of 
each are carefully sifted. The MSS., the ancient versions, 
the fathers, and the standard printed editions, are brought 
seriatim to give their verdict. The reading " which " is 
shown to be supported by no unquestioned MS.; by the 
unequivocal verdict of only the Itala and Vulgate; by 



THE " MYSTERY OF GODLINESS." 857 

none but the Latin fathers ; and by only two printed 
editions, of comparatively little value owing to the servility 
which characterizes them. The rendering " who," or " he 
who," is proved to rest on the allowable evidence of only 
three MSS. ; none of the ancient versions necessarily sup- 
port it, while six are decidedly against it; no Greek 
father adopts it in a direct citation of the apostolic words ; 
and Griesbach's example is the sole precedent for its ad- 
mission into the printed text. The third interpretation, 
and that whereby the Saviour's divinity is recognised, is 
borne out by 167 MSS. (or 171, if the argument as to the 
disputed codices be correct) ; by the Philoxenian Syriac, 
the (Polyglott) Arabic, and two other versions less note- 
worthy, but not incapable of affording a corroborative 
proof; by the explicit phraseology of the Greek fathers ; 
by the Complutensian Polyglott, and a large number of 
approved versions. 

The internal evidences furnished by the structure of the 
sentence are then placed in the scale. Grammatical rules 
and hermeneutical canons lend their weight on the same 
side : and the conclusion drawn is, that " the passage which 
has been the subject of investigation, so far from suffering 
any detriment from the most rigid critical scrutiny to which 
it may be brought, only gains in point of stability and au- 
thority, and continues to demand an unhesitating reception 
of the great mystery which it proclaims : e God was mani- 
fested in the flesh.'" 

The closing pages of the Appendix contain a valuable 
elenchus auctorum for the guidance of such as wish to 
enter more fully into an investigation of the arguments in 
favour of the usual reading.* 

* The entire treatise, with very slight omissions, was reprinted at 
Andover, Mass., in the "Biblical Repository" for 1832, with a supple- 



358 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

The theme has here heen dwelt on at greater length 
than may to some appear suitable in a volume like the 
present. But it has not been without a justifying cause. 
There are not wanting men in our own day who venture 
boldly to assert that the commonly-received text is an 
undoubted corruption. The oracular utterance may easily 
be received for truth by such as have heard nothing to the 
contrary. It may not be amiss, therefore, to have shown 
that this is not a matter to be summarily disposed of, or 
settled by an Ipse dixit. Happily for those of us who 
cannot pretend to critical acumen, our faith in the doctrine 
of the Redeemer's divine nature rests not alone on a 
passage, in which a hair-stroke inserted or omitted in a 
single letter, or an abbreviative mark found or wanting 
above a single word, is sufficient to affect the sense. 

The publication of the above-named volume attracted a 
considerable amount of notice among learned divines. 
More than one dignitary of the Church, and many of its 
clergy, forwarded letters in terms of cordial approval. 
Even after the lapse of ten years, there was an ingathering 
of fruit from the seed thus sown. A clergyman, writing 
in 1840, says : — 

" I would take this opportunity of saying that some years ago, 
when your ' Great Mystery of Godliness' appeared, I read it at the 
time of publication, and with great benefit, as it settled my mind on 
a "subject which had occasioned me some perplexity, owing to the 
hardy assertions of the Arians and Socinians on the passage there 
elucidated. It is more important to observe (what you probably are 
acquainted with) that Mr. J. J. Gurney adopted your reasonings in 
the second edition of his Biblical notes. Wishing you every bless- 

mental article by Prof. Stuart, who goes still more elaborately into the 
question of internal evidence, and arrives at the same result, though by a 
line of argumentation in some respects differing. His remarks on the 
anarthrous reading of the nominative Qebs, as unusual but not un-Pauline, 
are particularly valuable. 



ILLNESS. 359 

ing that the Sonship of Jehovah through Christ Jesus can convey in 
this time of waiting and expectation, believe me, 

" Your's truly, ." 

The autumn of Dr. Henderson's first year at Highbury 
saw his labours interrupted by a severe illness. An attack 
of acute rheumatism brought him to the borders of the 
grave. There were not a few of his ministerial friends 
who, when they saw him on his bed of sickness, had the 
fear that he would rise from it no more. When the disease 
itself had partially yielded to the remedies prescribed, he 
was in a state of such extreme weakness that he looked 
on the prolongation of his life as dubious, if not impossi- 
ble. " I shall never see the light of yonder sun again," 
was his exclamation, when returning from his first drive 
in his kind friend Mr. Thomas Wilson's carriage. But 
there was more work for him to do, and the time for his 
rest and his reward had not yet come. His strength was 
gradually restored, and his duties were resumed. The 
malady, it is true, lingered still in a chronic form, and 
occasioned him no less inconvenience than pain. For 
months he could reach his post of labour only by being 
helped with difficulty into the Highbury stage-coach, 
which daily called to take him to and fro, and which went 
beyond its allotted terminus to set him down at the 
College-gates. During the year which followed, occasional 
visits to Brighton, with the use of the shampooing baths, 
contributed to restore his walking-powers. The summer 
of 1832 witnessed a still more marked improvement, when 
it found him rambling among the Welsh hills ; and in 
1833, the ascent of Ben Nevis demonstrated as well as 
confirmed the perfect cure. 

There was one incident connected with his severe illness, 
which forcibly recalled his thoughts to former scenes. His 



360 TTJTOKSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

able physician, the late Dr. Thomas Harrison Burder, 
was assiduous in his attention and unremitting in his care. 
Laid aside at one time by indisposition, and yet fearing 
that the omission of a day's visit might prove hurtful, he 
commissioned a professional friend to call in his stead. 
That friend was Dr. Richard Bright, the eminent practi- 
tioner whose decease is recorded in the " Times " news- 
paper on the very day when these lines are being written. 
To none other could such a delegated office have been 
more welcome. Dr. Bright had himself travelled in Ice- 
land, with Sir George Stuart Mackenzie and Dr. Holland. 
The travellers of 1810 and 1814 were equally excited by 
the meeting which enabled them to compare notes and to 
collate impressions. The scenery and its phenomena, the 
islanders and their characteristics, underwent a hasty but 
animated review. The patient seemed to forget his suffer- 
ings ; the doctor seemed to forget his errand. Far, far 
away from that sick room were the thoughts of both ; and 
it was not till he was actually rising to take leave, that 
the visitor was recalled, by the anxious looks which he 
read on the countenance of the bystander, to a remem- 
brance of the duty he had yet to perform. 

Such studies as could be pursued in hours of conva- 
lescence were mainly connected with the tutorate. The 
following remarks which Dr. Henderson addressed in a 
private letter to Professor Stuart were inserted in the 
Biblical Repository. They furnish a sample of what he 
had then in hand :• — 

London, Feb. 22, 1831. 

" . . . . You have greatly the advantage of us in having the young 
men that come to Andover already initiated into the elemental parts 
of the [Hebrew] language. With us all is to begin ; and that with 
the Theological Tutor. I am happy to say, however, that at Highbury 



HEBREW. 861 

College (to which I removed last July, the Mission College having 
been given up on the ground of disproportionate expense) I have suc- 
ceeded in getting Hebrew begun at the commencement of the second 
year ; during which I find that I can take the students through the 
Grammar and Genesis at least ; the third year we can master the 
more important of the other Mosaic books and the Psalms ; and this 
leaves us time in the fourth year to go through Job, Isaiah, or the 
minor Prophets. I have now a class that began Job last Septem- 
ber, and have read the whole of it, — all the Chaldee portions of the 
Old Testament, and two long chapters of Jonathan's Targum. For- 
merly the students only got a mere smattering, and never having 
got fairly over the threshold, could not enjoy the scene's within. It 
grieves me to think that I cannot devote more time to the prosecu- 
tion of Biblical researches, for the immediate benefit of my Hebrew 
classes ; but when I tell you that with the exception of a course on 
Biblical criticism (already prepared), I have still in a great measure 
to get up lectures on Biblical Antiquities, Divinity, Church History, 
and Pastoral Theology, you will not wonder that it should be the 
case. ...."* 

The tutor was no longer a novice in his work. His 
plans, whatsoever they might be, must now have been 
matured. The hand of a competent witness is again need- 
ful to undraw the veil, and reveal to our view something 
of the class-room routine. Among the many who could 
have borne such testimony, it appeared no easy task to 
judge who was fittest to be appealed to for aid. But a 
determinative principle suggested itself. Would not one 
who had himself been called to sustain the tutorial office 
be the most likely to have reviewed with care the different 
modes adopted by those who presided over his own colle- 
giate studies ? Application was accordingly made to the 
Rev. J. M. Charlton, M.A., tutor of the Western College, 
Plymouth. The request which was thus ventured met 
with the kindest response, and the interesting reminis- 
cences have been forwarded which are here subjoined : — 

* Vol. i. p. 777. 



362 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

" Having been applied to by the author of these Memoirs to put 
in writing some reminiscences of my late venerated Tutor, the Rev. 
E. Henderson, D.D., during my connection with him as a student 
at Highbury College, I have a real though a mournful pleasure in 
complying with the request. Much as I may regret that the task 
had not been committed to abler hands, I cannot but accede to a 
desire which has been so kindly expressed. After the lapse of 
nearly twenty years, during which I have been busied in some way 
or other with the duties and cares of the Christian ministry, it is 
certainly not much that I am able to recal of a period not exceeding 
four. Yet the position of our lamented friend was deservedly far 
too high, and a fragrance too grateful still breathes around his 
memory, to leave even the little I may be able to communicate en- 
tirely without value. There are thousands who will read, with the 
deepest interest, any account, however insignificant in itself, which 
preserves any fact of his history, or sheds a fresh light on any feature 
of his character. 

" I had the privilege of being one of Dr. Henderson's students at 
the above Institution between the years 1836 and 1842, and passed 
under his guidance through a course of study comprising the Hebrew 
and Syriac languages, the exegesis of the Old and New Testaments, 
Homiletics, Doctrinal Theology, and Church History. Our esteemed 
Tutor was then in the maturity of his intellectual powers, and in 
possession of immense stores of learning, the accumulations of many 
years of assiduous study. I should not venture on anything like an 
analysis of his mental constitution, even if the task had not been 
performed by one eminently fitted to do it justice, and whose com- 
munications to these Memoirs the reader has already seen. But I 
may be allowed to say, that our Tutor was gifted with a singular 
aptitude for the acquisition of languages, — those keys which unlock 
so many abundant treasures of wisdom, — and that this quickness in 
acquiring was united with a memory which held with a tenacious 
grasp whatever, particularly in the form of words, was once com- 
mitted to its keeping. Patient in investigation, and indefatigable 
in enquiring of every oracle whence the responses of truth might 
be elicited, he had formed in the course of years an acquaintance 
with Theology in all its principal branches, and so far as a pro- 
found love of truth, unaffected piety, and an unwearied patience in 
conveying instruction, and bearing with the infirmities, moral as 
well as intellectual, of his pupils, could fit any man for such an office, 
he was eminently qualified to fill the chair of a Divinity Tutor in 
any of our colleges. A few observations on his method of teaching 
in each of the departments over which he presided — any one of 



DIVINITY. 363 

which was sufficiently ample to have employed the whole energies 
of a single mind — will serve to recal him to the memories of his 
surviving students, as well as to enable others rightly to estimate 
his abilities as a Tutor. 

" In Doctrinal Theology, Dr. Henderson presented to the class, in 
writing, a full and lucid outline of the whole science, systematically 
arranged under its leading heads, and pursued in detail through 
descending gradations of divisions and subdivisions down to its 
minutest principles. This work must have cost an immense ex- 
penditure of time and thought, before it reached that model of com- 
prehensive and logical arrangement which it presented, without even 
a blot or an erasure, in the thick manuscript volume delivered to the 
students. It was a monument besides of the extensive reading of 
its author. For under each of the minor divisions of every subject, 
references were inserted to the volume, chapter, and even page of a 
vast range of authors, including most of those whose works fill the 
shelves of our College Libraries. This syllabus, in a word, bore, as 
a whole, a close resemblance to that of the late Rev. Dr. Pye Smith, 
published since his death under the title of ' First Lines of Christian 
Theology ;' and but for the previous publication of a work so similar, 
this also would have been well worthy of a place among the books 
of every divinity student. 

" The Theological course consisted in going regularly through this 
syllabus in class, in the following manner. A number of its minor 
divisions were taken in their order, embracing as much matter as 
could be conveniently dealt with in one Lecture ; the several volumes 
referred to in connection with them were duly selected and distri- 
buted in succession among the members of the class during the week ; 
and each, having carefully read the prescribed passages, as aids to 
his own meditations, committed his views of the subject to writing, 
in the most elaborate and logical form which his time and abilities 
would allow. Then, on a particular day in each week, fixed upon 
for the purpose, the essays so written were produced in class in the 
presence of the Tutor, who, after hearing them read in any order 
which suggested itself to his own mind, superadded such corrective 
or supplementary observations as the occasion called for. Such in 
theory was the course of instruction pursued, and its peculiar advan- 
tages are manifest. It introduced the student to a most valuable 
course of reading. It gave him the opportunity of seeing the same 
subject presented in different lights, without the labour of excavating 
the ponderous tomes for himself out of the recesses of a large library, 
and wandering for hours over their pages before he could, almost per- 
chance, light upon what he precisely wanted. It compelled him, 



364 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

at least in some degree, to think for himself; for amid discordant 
opinions and opposing- arguments he was placed under the necessity 
of following with reason the leading of one, even if he was not 
stimulated to draw light and aliment in some measure from all, and 
to form convictions bearing on them the impress of his own inde- 
pendent thinking. To these merits we must add the being com- 
pelled to make up one's mind within a given time, the constant 
exercise of the pen for the exact expression of religious truth, and 
the gradual improvement of one's style through the insensible in- 
fluence of frequent communion with some of the greatest masters of 
reason and speech. Whether these advantages may not have been 
partly counterbalanced by circumstances inseparable from the gene- 
ral character and position of young men, is a question which I am 
not now called to discuss. This plan was no doubt adopted by our 
Tutor after some experience of the general difficulties to be over- 
come, and much anxious and careful enquiry after the most effectual 
means of meeting them. Many of his students, moreover, trained 
under this system, have more than fulfilled his warmest hopes, and 
exhibit at this day, in the evangelical soundness of their public 
teaching, evidence of the general wisdom of his plans. 

" It was in the exegesis of the Old Testament that Dr. Henderson 
particularly delighted, and, it may be added, excelled. He united 
skill in appreciating the niceties of the original languages with a 
sincere and fervent love to the Sacred Scriptures ; and the combina- 
tion of these qualities, each in a superior degree, together with a 
familiar acquaintance with and judicious use of the best results of 
German scholarship, rendered him a wise and able interpreter, as his 
published works in this department abundantly show. The barrier 
to be removed, in the study of Hebrew, before the labours of the 
expositor could, strictly speaking, begin, served to bring out some of 
the most estimable qualities of his character. It showed him not 
only familiar with all the minutiae of the language, and with the 
peculiar difficulties it presents to most learners, but also patient to the 
last degree under all the irritations of inaptitude and indolent distaste. 
His uniform perseverance in spite of repeated failures, undisturbed by 
a single symptom of impatience, was marvellous, and, whatever else 
may have been forgotten, this at least must have left an impression 
on the memories of his students which time will not obliterate. 

" Kindred with the Doctor's own exegetical efforts was an exercise 
which he imposed on the students themselves, and to which he at- 
tached considerable importance. This consisted of short expositions 
given by the students of the pastoral epistles of the Apostle Paul. 
The whole exercise lasted about an hour, and was taken once a week. 



HOMILETICS. 365 

The members of the class, generally two or three on each occasion, 
expounded some entire passages in succession, each one standing up 
in his turn, with his Bible in hand, and with or without the aid of 
notes. At the close of the last of the three, the Tutor usually 
added some judicious remarks, with the view of pointing out either 
the merits or defects of each exposition, or still further elucidating 
the sense of the passage ; and particularly in order to give additional 
emphasis to its practical bearings. His object in prescribing such 
an exercise seems to have been to familiarize his pupils with the 
practice of exposition, which he justly regarded as entitled to a fre- 
quent place in pulpit ministrations ; it was, however, perhaps prin- 
cipally to impress their minds at the very outset of their preparatory 
course (for it was usually taken in their first year) with the solemn 
responsibilities of the Christian ministry. The hour, however, spent 
in this manner, opened and closed with prayer, was more like a 
select religious service than a college-lecture ; and whatever may 
have been its value to the student, it always appeared to afford to 
our Tutor himself a season of hallowed delight. 

" In the department of Homiletics, Dr. Henderson was distin- 
guished rather by strong common sense, and a masculine yet deli- 
cate taste, than by any formal principles or theories of sermonizing. 
The selection of texts was, as a rule, made by him, but occasionally 
left to ourselves. His great aim was to prepare us for a description of 
preaching, which may be defined as intensely evangelical, at the same 
time to render our sermons practically effective as well as doctrinally 
sound ; and to keep them down to the level of ordinary apprehension 
without forfeiting a claim to the attention of cultivated minds. He took 
much pleasure in giving us the outlines of sermons to which he had 
himself listened on the preceding Sunday with admiration ; as he 
would also point out in others, and with a kindly humour which 
was peculiar to himself, anything which he regarded as far-fetched 
or in bad taste. As far certainly as the ministerial success of nu- 
merous preachers of the gospel, some of whom are still the orna- 
ments of our section of the Church of Christ, may be taken as an 
exponent of a Tutor's success, so far the judicious counsel of ours 
must be held to have been eminently adapted to promote the efficiency 
of pulpit-ministration. 

" In Church History, Dr. Henderson made use of Mosheim as a 
text-book. His plan was in general to subject the class to a toler- 
ably close viva voce examination on each chapter, in order to ensure 
a careful study of its contents, and to add remarks of his own drawn 
from the most various sources. The exercise was managed with his 
usual wisdom and tact. 



366 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

" In whatever department, however, the Doctor was engaged in 
discharging the duties of his office, that which ever commended him 
to the respect and admiration of his students, was the uniform dis- 
play of all that is most estimable in human character, as well as in 
its silent influence most conciliating. He was blessed, apparently, 
with an evenness of temper, an unruffled flow of good spirits and 
amiable feelings ; his mind seemed always to have about the same 
measure of energy, and to be poised, as it were, midway between 
the extremes of excitement and depression. Every morning saw him 
regularly at his post ; his bell rang to the minute ; each class was 
greeted on its first appearance with smiles and kind enquiries ; yet 
no time was lost in gossip, though a pertinent anecdote drawn from 
his extended travels occasionally relieved the attention of the student. 
In all circumstances he evinced the same readiness to listen to ob- 
jections, and to smoothe, as far as it was in his power, the rugged 
pathway of learning. His treatment of the backward and diffident 
was uniformly kind and gentle ; enquiries were never repelled by a 
roughness of manner utterly foreign to his nature, and which his 
calm moral courage enabled him easily to dispense with as a means 
of self-defence. While, however, he was open to questions, and his 
whole deportment was generous and guileless, it was pervaded too 
by an indescribable dignity, which insensibly inspired reverence, and 
would alone have administered the severest rebuke to impertinence, 
could it have dared to show itself in his presence. He presented to 
the view of his students an example of outward Christian consis- 
tency, which was scarcely disfigured by the smallest visible flaw ; 
and though with respect to some matters presented in this paper, 
there may conceivably, as in most things connected with human cha- 
racter, be a difference of opinion among equal observers, this I may 
affirm without the slightest fear of contradiction, that his whole 
course of conduct was marked by the most delicate conscientiousness 
in the discharge of his duty, by a profound reverence for the divine 
truths he was specially called to discuss, and by the most earnest 
desire to promote, by every means in his power, the true interests of 
his students, the great ends of the Institution, and the true glory of 
the churches. 

" As I close these remarks, I am distressed by the appalling in- 
telligence, just received, of the mysterious Providence which has 
suddenly, in a dreadful manner, removed from us in the midst of 
his usefulness, one who held a high place as a teacher of Theology 
in one of our Collegiate Institutions, and a still higher place in the 
admiration and love of all by whom he was known. But in con- 
trast with the feelings awakened by a death, on every ground so 



buck's dictionary. 367 

much to be deplored, it is some relief to think of the venerated Dr. 
Henderson as one who was permitted to continue up to a full age in 
his useful labours, and then to pass gradually and peacefully away, 
surrounded by his dearest friends, and leaving behind him so much 
to attest his learning and worth, and still to instruct the rising 
ministry of this and other countries ; while he himself amid the 
glories of that heaven into which he has entered, is enjoying the 
full meaning of a golden sentence of St. Augustine, of which his life 
here was no mean illustration, 'Non vincit nisi Veritas, victoria 
veritatis est caritas.' May we, his surviving students, ever ponder, 
in connection with the memory of our revered Tutor, the words of 
the great Apostle : — ' Ptemember them .... who have spoken to 
you the word of God, whose faith follow, considering the end of 
their conversation ; Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, and to-day, 
and for ever.' 

"Plymouth, January 24:th, 1859." 

When sufficiently at leisure to undertake extra-official 
labour, Dr. Henderson had for many years much and 
varied employment as an editor. In 1833, " Buck's Theo- 
logical Dictionary," a work which was of thirty years' 
standing and of increasing reputation, was re-published 
under his superintendence, with improvements and con- 
siderable additions. This valuable Encyclopaedia of matters 
pertaining to Biblical literature, religious nomenclature, 
and ecclesiastical history, had been entirely deficient in 
biographic sketches of the leading theologians. To supply 
this lack, five hundred new articles were prepared, while 
the already-existing notices on Christian sects were care- 
fully brought up to the date of this re-issue.* It was an 
employment in which he felt an interest. He was con- 
scious, as he states in the preface, that a volume of such a 
nature could not fail to contain " a melancholy exhibition 
of the multiform corruptions of the Christian faith ; " but 
yet he thought that its deceased author had done a needful 

* Eight years afterwards, my father was called on to bring out another 
edition. That of 1841 is, therefore, the more fully improved of the two. 



368 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

work, and had done it well and wisely, since it exhibited 
the majesty and simplicity of Divine truth, as well as — 
and in contrast with — the variety and complexity of 
human errors. 

Abbott's "Corner-Stone" was a work which underwent 
revision at his hand. Some of the statements in the 
original work, if not erroneous, were at least suspicious. 
The most objectionable chapter was that on "Human 
Duty," which was consequently expunged. A few para- 
graphs in the remaining sections were slightly curtailed 
or altered ; and the rest was sent forth under an impression, 
that thus abridged, it was well calculated to arrest the at- 
tention and to prove useful to the souls of men. 

English editions of Moses Stuart's Commentaries also 
passed under his eye. For that expositor he entertained 
a very high esteem ; and often applied to him the saying 
which obtained among the Jews in reference to their great 
Rabbi, Moses Maimonides, "Since the days of Moses there 
hath never arisen a Moses like unto this Moses." Many a 
letter of friendship passed between these kindred workers, 
and often did each express the hope that they might live 
to enjoy a closer acquaintance. Their meeting was re- 
served, however, for a higher sphere and a more perfect 
state. The first edition of Stuart on the Hebrews, that 
left the English press, came out in part as early as 1828, 
although it was 1831 before the publishers were ready 
with the second volume. In 1833, another and newer 
edition was prepared, likewise under Dr. Henderson's 
supervision; and in the same year was issued Stuart on 
the Romans, which was edited jointly by Dr. J. Pye Smith 
and Dr. Henderson. 

It was not to be expected that the editors should neces- 
sarily subscribe to every iota of what the commentator had 



ROMANS VII. 369 

written. They were not, in this case, called to make ex- 
cision, as the volume was not designed for the unformed 
mind of the young. It was written for the student, who 
was supposed capable of weighing evidence, and who must 
be left to form his own conclusion. 

One point, however, here demands a reference. Prof. 
Stuart advocated the Pelagian interpretation of the con- 
cluding verses in Romans vii. His argument was so ably 
sustained, and so logically built up, that Dr. Henderson, 
notwithstanding his co-editor's refutation as embodied in 
the preface, was temporarily shaken in his view of the 
passage, and was led to think that the American divine 
had proved his point. In his correspondence with the 
author of the Commentary, he expressed his readiness to 
believe that the Augustinian mode of expounding the 
Apostle's declarations in this place was "calculated to 
keep up and foster a low state of Christianity." Some 
time afterwards he was led to look more closely into the 
subject, when preparing a pulpit-discourse, and he then 
saw strong reason for reverting to what had been his 
original opinion. Meanwhile the off-hand sentences, which 
had been penned under the impulse of the moment, found 
their way into print, and came across the Atlantic, charged 
with the full sanction of his name. Under such circum- 
stances, he could do no otherwise than openly avow his 
change of sentiment. This he did in a letter to the Editor 
of the Congregational Magazine (Jan. 1837). After ad- 
verting to the facts of the case, he thus states his ultimate 
convictions : — 

" I will not, Mr. Editor, trespass on your patience, or that of 
your readers, by furnishing anything in the shape of an outline of 
my discourse ; but I beg to be indulged while I briefly state the 
grounds on which I adhere to the exegesis of Augustine — an exegesis, 

2 B 



370 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

which was approved by the Reformers, and has been defended by our 
best evangelical commentators in modern times. 

" 1. The Apostle employs the personal pronouns J, my, and me, 
nearly forty times within the compass of twelve verses, without 
giving the least intimation of a transition from the subject of which 
he had been treating, which is undoubtedly his own experience. He 
even employs the emphatic compound av to? i^w, I myself, ver, 25, 
to remove all dubiety. 

" 2. While in the fifth and sixth verses he employs the first per- 
son plural, because he is depicting the experience of the Jewish 
Christians, who, like himself, had been set free by means of the gos- 
pel, he proceeds from the seventh to the thirteenth verse, to describe 
the operation of the law upon himself individually, or his own per- 
sonal feelings in reference to it, when he was in an unconverted 
state. This he does by changing the first person plural to the first 
person singular ; but still employing the past tense of the verbs to 
indicate a former condition. On reaching the fourteenth verse, 
however, though he retains the first personal singular, he converts 
the past tense into the present, obviously with a view to mark his 
experience subsequent to the period of his conversion, and at the 
time he wrote. 

" 3. The ardour of feeling which the Apostle throws into the whole 
of his description evinces that his own experience is the subject of 
discourse. He writes like one, who was painfully conscious of the 
conflict on which he expatiates, and not like one who merely de- 
scribes the experience of another. 

" 4. Several terms occur in the passage, which do not admit of an 
appropriate or unexceptionable application, to any but regenerate 
persons, such as — ' the inward man,' ' the law of the mind,' * de- 
lighting in the law of God,' ' not allowing that which is evil,' 
'serving the law of God with the mind,' and 'thanking God' for 
deliverance through the Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas, the terms 
and modes of expression which have been thought to militate against 
a state of grace are all easily reconcilable with it on the admitted 
ground of indwelling sin. What the Apostle states is, that such sin, 
to the extent of its operation, went to produce all the opposition to 
the gracious principles of the new creation, which he so pathetically 
pourtrays ; that, viewed in himself, apart from the counteracting in- 
fluence of these principles, he had nothing but wretchedness in 
prospect ; that no hope of deliverance could be obtained from any 
source but that which the gospel supplies ; but that, supplied from 
this source, he fixedly and devotedly served the divine law, though 
the principle of carnality which still existed within him prevented 



ROMANS VII. 371 

him from rendering complete obedience to it, and exerted itself to 
the utmost to effect the commission of sin, ver. 25. 

" 5. The connection between the seventh and eighth chapters is 
not so close, as, in my opinion, to warrant the conclusion which 
Professor Stuart and others have endeavoured to establish. The in- 
ference (apa vvv) which the Apostle draws, ch. viii. 1, is not from 
the statement he had just made respecting the internal conflict, but 
from what he had established in the preceding part of the epistle 
relative to the justification obtained by believers from the condem- 
natory sentence of the law, and the sanctification of which they 
were equally the subjects in consequence of the grace of the gospel. 

" 6. What ought to settle the point, beyond all dispute, is the 
employment of the identical terms (in part) by the same Apostle in 
his epistle to the Galatians (ch. v. 17), where, it is obvious, the ex- 
perience of the regenerate is the subject of discourse. ' For the flesh 
lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh ; and these 
are contrary the one to the other ; so that ye cannot do the things 
that ye would.' (Comp. Rom. vii. 18, 19). It is surprising that a 
passage so perfectly parallel should not have occurred to Professor 
Stuart, either when composing his Commentary, or his more elaborate 
Excursus, though, in the former, he adduces what have usually been 
quoted as parallels, from Xenophon, Euripides, Epictetus, Seneca, 
and others. 

"I conclude these remarks by observing, that there is nothing 
whatever in the Augustinian construction of the passage, which 
gives the least encouragement to licentiousness. Many an Anti- 
nomian has doubtless hugged it to his bosom, as a passport to heaven, 
notwithstanding the deep-stained characters of rebellion by which 
he has been marked ; but he has only wrested it, as he has done the 
other Scriptures, to his own destruction. Its tendencies upon the 
mind of a renewed sinner are diametrically the reverse. While he 
perceives in himself the exact counterpart of the picture, he is filled 
with abhorrence of the indwelling evil, and humbles himself before 
God on account of it ; and gratefully exercising confidence in the 
mediation of his Saviour for continued rescue, he joyfully anticipates 
the state, where sin is known no more." 

The above is recorded on this page, not merely because 
it sets forth the views which his maturer judgment formed 
on a difficult and debated question, but also because it 
strongly exhibits certain of his mental characteristics. In 
him, the decision which expressed itself firmly, was blended 



312 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

with the candour that could yield to evidence. He always 
had an opinion, and had a reason for it; but he never 
clung to it with stubborn prejudice, or did battle for it 
with blind obstinacy. He was always to be found on the 
one side of a question, or on the other ; never midway, in 
the murky atmosphere of doubt. Occasionally new light 
and more cogent arguments caused him to change his 
position ^ but none could accuse him of versatility. His 
was no perpetual vacillation. If he abandoned the ground 
he had once occupied, it was only because he would fain 
pitch his tent where he seemed to descry a brighter radiance. 
If, upon trial, he found that radiance to have been delusive, 
he had no hesitation in returning to the sun-lit spot where 
he had taken his former station. But the glare which had 
proved deceptive, had thenceforth no power to " draw his 
steadfast soul aside." 

It was not indiscriminately that Dr. Henderson accepted 
editorial responsibility and editorial remuneration. He was 
not one who could forego duty in his quest of gain, or bid 
conscience be silent before the voice of pecuniary interest. 
An eminent publisher — a truly Christian man — had been 
led in the course of business, thoughtlessly as it would 
seem, to conclude a bargain whereby he engaged to bring 
out an accurate and handsome edition of the Koran, not 
for the purpose of literary reference, but avowedly for sale 
among the Mohammedans. Unaware of the questionable 
light in which such a transaction might be viewed, he ap- 
pealed to the Professor of Oriental Languages at Highbury, 
as one competent to revise the printed sheets. The offer 
was declined. The reasons for this refusal were candidly 
stated. The enterprise stood forth before the eyes of the 
speculator in its true colours. He saw that he was about 
to further the spread of a false bible. He recoiled from the 



THE KORAN. 373 

thought of abetting the Arabian prophet's system of 
iniquity. He was a man of principle and piety. He could 
not for a moment hesitate as to his path of duty. It was 
nothing to him that others instead of himself might 
embark in this branch of trade ; for, lucrative though it 
might be, he had learned to regard its proceeds as " filthy 
lucre/' and he would have none of them. It was nothing 
to him that he had already gone to considerable expense in 
preparation. A sacrifice he would have to make, but it 
would be a sacrifice for his Master's sake. There are not 
many who would do the like. His written answer to Dr. 
Henderson's remonstrance reflects as much credit on him- 
self as on his monitor ; — nay, even more ; for it is easier to 
give advice than to take it, and easier to decline an offered 
compensation than to reconcile oneself to an actual loss. 
ee Your letter," writes the man of business, " has acted on 
me most beneficially. My mind was not at ease, and I am 
made sensible how much it was oppressed by the calm and 
satisfaction I felt and feel on resigning the undertaking. 
My expenses have been great, cutting a steel die for bind- 
ings, casting a complete fount of letter, providing paper for 
the impression ; but I have willingly taken the loss on 
myself, and have announced to the merchant my withdraw- 
ment. My loss appears in the pleasing features of real 
gain." At the close of the letter, he promises in future 
times to " think on the Koran, and thank Dr. Henderson." 
In the year 1833 a Syriac Lexicon was projected, and in 
part prepared. It was manifestly designed for the New 
Testament student; hence the exegetical (at least, the 
Biblio-exegetical) element had in it a marked predominance, 
though the etymological, syntactical, and statistical bear- 
ings of each word were not forgotten. Only twenty pages 
of manuscript, however, were completed. No bookseller 



374 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

was found willing to risk the publication of so extensive a 
work with the probability of a very limited sale ; and it 
was not one which the author would have felt warranted 
to bring out at his own expense. Three years later, he gave 
a ready consent to superintend the re-editing of a Lexicon* 
which had been published in the seventeenth century by 
the Hamburgh professor Gutbirius, and which was charac- 
terized by Schaaf as "breve admodumet concisum," while 
yet exhibiting, as the title-page announces, a complete New 
Testament vocabulary. A reviewer in the Scottish congre- 
gational Magazine, for June 1836, states that the Editor 
has " added to it where it was deficient, corrected the 
numerous mistakes which disfigured the copies in former 
circulation, and arranged the derivatives under their primi- 
tives so as to present the alphabetical order without inter- 
ruption to the eye of the reader." 

In the meanwhile, Dr. Henderson was not so engrossed 
in calling attention to the writings of other men as to lay 
aside the author's pen. In 1834 a pamphlet left the press, 
entitled " Pastoral Vigilance." It contained a charge 
which he had delivered at the ordination of one of his 
students, the Rev. S. Davis, at Needham Market. The 
pulpit from which its tones of evangelic warning and ex- 
hortation were uttered, had been occupied at the outset of 
his career by Dr. Joseph Priestley. This remembrance 
supplied a key-note to regulate the harmonies of the entire 
strain — " Feed the church of God, which he hath purchased 
with His own blood." It inspired the injunctions which 
bade the young preacher " exhibit the Redeemer in the 
peerless dignity of His Person," and the Holy Spirit "in His 

* iEgidii Gutbirii Lexicon Syriacum : omnes Novi Testamenti Syriaci 
dictiones et particulas complectens. Denuo edidit, emendavit, in ordinem 
redegit E. Henderson, Ph.D., Londini, mdcccxxxvi., pp. 135. 



JEWRY STREET CHAPEL. 375 

divine and personal character." The* charge in its printed 
form is followed hy a few valuable "Notes, critical and 
illustrative/' particularly one in justification of the received 
rendering Geo? in Acts xx. £8. 

At the time of issuing this call to ministerial diligence, 
Dr. Henderson was giving proof that he was as willing 
as ever to engage in such work where opportunity offered. 
His pulpit-engagements, as a casual supply, had not yet 
abated in their frequency; but he was resolved for a season 
to relinquish them, that he might bestow his gratuitous 
labours where they might possibly tend to save a feeble 
congregation from being utterly dispersed. Jewry Street 
Chapel, Aldgate, an ancient interest dating from the time 
of King Charles II., had been the preaching-place of Dr. 
Lardner and of Dr. Benson. Many had been the fluctua- 
tions through which it had passed, and many the efforts 
made to revive the cause. A crisis had again arrived in its 
history. The enquiry once more arose, Could aught be 
done, or must the station be abandoned ? There was one 
who was prepared to do what in him lay to avert the latter 
alternative. He offered his aid for a twelvemonth. Hand- 
bills were printed and distributed throughout the neigh- 
bourhood, with 500 copies of the tract, " A Persuasive to 
Public Worship." Dr. Paterson, who was on a visit to 
London, opened the course of services. Subjects of dis- 
course were pre-announced. A small congregation was 
again gathered. As weeks rolled on, there was a percep- 
tible increase. Several of the hearers were roused to 
thoughtfulness. Inquirers began to ask, " What must I 
do ?" All, however, was still on a very small scale. In a 
spiritual aspect, there was hope, for " the day of small 
things" might not be despised. Viewed in relation to the 
pecuniary support of the place, all was as dull as it had 



376 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

been at first. Those who came were regular in their 
attendance; but they were, with the exception of one 
family, in humble life. Some few took sittings ; it was the 
utmost they could do. The others came, and went ; it 
would take time before their hearts could be opened to 
assist in the good work. They had " freely to receive," 
before they could " freely give." There were none on the 
spot to take up the matter, to make it their own, and thus 
to relieve the friends at a distance who had borne the bur- 
den for so long a time, but who felt unable much longer to 
sustain its pressure. Such was the state of things when 
the year of pulpit-ministration was ended. Gladly would 
that service of love have been extended beyond the pre- 
scribed term, had circumstances permitted. But the ex- 
periment had failed to raise the hopes of those on whom 
the responsibility devolved. The cause which had lan- 
guished through many a year, had finally to be abandoned, 
and the building offered for sale. 

Shall it be said that the preacher's work during that 
rolling year had been fruitless ? Its direct influence the 
day of the Lord may yet declare. Its indirect results we 
may believe to have been even more abundant. A sermon 
preached by him at this chapel on the words, " For the 
Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit," * 
led him the next day to talk over the subject with his 
friend, the Rev. R. Philip of Maberley Chapel. " Why," 
he asked, " do those who speak much of the love of God 
and of Christ say so little about the love of the Spirit ?" 
The conversation issued in Mr. Philip's volume on that 

* The entire verse formed the subject of discourse. There was hardly 
any rule in homiletics, on which my father was more apt to insist than the 
avoidance of half-texts, isolated phrases, or mere Scripture-mottoes taken 
apart from their connection. 



LECTURES ON INSPIRATION. 377 

subject, published two years later, and dedicated to the 
friend who had " suggested and enforced " it. 

In the establishment of the Congregational Library, and 
afterwards of the Congregational Lectures, Dr. Henderson 
took a hearty and active interest. At the opening Lecture 
of the first series, it was he who was appointed to lift up 
the voice of prayer, and to entreat that the work might 
be heaven-owned and heaven-blessed. The fourth Course 
of Lectures was the one which fell to his share. It was 
delivered in 1836, and published before the close of the 
year.* 

A letter to Ireland, written at a much later date — the 
only letter of the kind which still remains in rough-draft — 
throws back its light upon the past, and reveals to view 
the feelings which had animated him in the selection and 
the treatment of his theme. He there remarks : — 

" The subject of Inspiration is of supreme importance as it respects 
the security of our faith. Deny it, or reason it away, and we raze 
the very foundations. It is lamentable to observe how widely loose 
and indefinite notions of it are spreading, and how Satan is employ- 
ing them to unhinge the minds of men, and pave the way for turn- 
ing away their minds from the truth. Let us ever hold fast the 
faithful word. e O fxevrot OTepebs Oejuekios too Qeov earrjicev" 

Feeling the momentousness of his theme, it was with a 
spirit of enlightened reverence that he addressed himself 
to the work ; and such is the spirit which pervades the en- 
tire volume. He disclaims the slavish superstition which 
rigidly maintains that the ipsissima verba were in every 

* Divine Inspiration ; or, The Supernatural influence exerted in the 
communication of Divine truth, and its special bearing on the composition 
of the Sacred Scriptures. By the Rev. E. Henderson, D.Ph., Cong. Lect. 
Series iv. London, 8vo, 1836. The second edition was published in 1847; 
and the third in 1852. 



378 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

instance directly communicated, suggested, or dictated from 
above. He sets himself as diametrically in opposition to 
those who deem that there is a single sentence or sentiment 
embodied in the holy volume, which was not inserted by 
the sanction, and under the superintendence, and in accord- 
ance with the mind of the Holy Spirit of God. Thus, he 
is the advocate of a plenary, but not of plenary verbal, in- 
spiration. 

After a general introduction which vindicates the rea- 
sonableness and likelihood of Divine communications to 
the children of men, and sketches the main theories which 
have prevailed on the subject, there follow three Lectures 
on the modes and gifts of Inspiration, which give occasion 
to interesting notices of a few contested points ; such as, 
the nature of the Urim and Thummim ; the oneiric medium 
of revelation ; the actual, not scyomantic, appearance of 
Samuel at Endor ; and the various miraculous endowments 
conferred in the Apostolic age. The six remaining Lec- 
tures pertain to Inspiration, in the more restricted bearing 
of the term, as having reference to the written word. The 
presumptive and positive proofs are examined in succes- 
sion. Inspiration, in this branch of it, is defined as " an 
extraordinary and supernatural influence exerted by the 
Holy Spirit on the minds of the sacred writers, in such 
modes and degrees as to lead to, and secure, in documentary 
forms, the deposition of such historical, didactic, devotional, 
and prophetic truth, as Infinite Wisdom deemed requisite 
for the immediate and future benefit of mankind" (p. 354). 
The different degrees are specified as having consisted in 
excitement, direct and mediate ; in elevation or invigora- 
tion of mind ; in superintendence ; in guidance ; and, oc- 
casionally, in actual revelation, when nothing short of this 
would meet the exigency of the case. The writer did not 



LECTURES ON INSPIRATION. 379 

deem that such views were calculated to trench, in the 
least degree, on the Divine authority of the heavenly 
oracles : — 

" Were it intended, by asserting different degrees or modifications 
of inspiration, that there are degrees or modifications of the authority 
given by inspiration to the Scriptures, according as it might be 
proved that different portions were the result of their exertion, then 
undoubtedly the theory by which they were attempted to be sup- 
ported must meet with unqualified reprobation from every one who 
' trembles at the word of the Lord.' But, if it can be proved, that 
what was written under the influence of the lowest conceivable 
degree of inspiration possesses the Divine sanction equally with that 
which was written under the most elevated — being the operation of 
the same Holy Spirit, and intended for the spiritual good of man- 
kind, those who maintain such a distinction cannot justly be charged 
with lowering the inspiration of the word of God, or in any way 
making it void." — Page 363. 

In the two concluding Lectures, an enquiry w T as instituted 
into the number of books that are to be regarded as canoni- 
cal ; and into the gradual but total cessation of the charis- 
mata, which marked the days of the Apostles and of those 
who had been ordained by the laying on of the Apostles' 
hands. 

The above analysis of the volume may suffice for the 
general reader. To others, the book is so well known, that 
for them it needs no comment. 

It was natural that there should be some to rise up in 
arms against the doctrines laid down by the author. The 
strict verbalists were horror-struck at what they deemed a 
lowering of the Bible's hallowed claim. Those who could 
espy a token of rationalism in a mention of "Ezekiel's 
lively imagination," or in any allusion to li John's model- 
ling his vision after those of Ezekiel and Daniel," could not 
but discern a fearful error in the tenet that the penmen 
of the sacred treatises were allowed to express their own 



380 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

feelings in their own style, while yet they were being em- 
ployed to record the will of the Supreme. Among the 
most vehement attacks made upon this volume was the 
" Refutation/' by the Rev. Alexander Carson, of Tuber- 
more ; but, as might be supposed from the peculiar genius 
of that writer, it was not written in a style which war- 
ranted a rejoinder. To argue, as some have done, that a 
work unanswered is necessarily unanswerable, is very poor 
logic. Dr. Henderson did no more than briefly notice the 
volume in a paragraph inserted in the notes to the second 
edition. He regarded "the main points of the contro- 
versy " as " entirely untouched " by his opponent in Ire- 
land ; and saw, therefore, no need to publish anything in 
the shape of a formal reply. Mere self-vindication never 
moved him to take up his pen ; nor was he given to re- 
iterate his views, when once he had fairly and fully given 
his testimony to what he saw to be truth. He ever acted 
as if under the impression that the mere sparring of intel- 
lect and collision of wit, which controversy is apt to entail, 
are inconsistent with the calm dignity essential to the 
character of the real truth-seeker. 

The year 1838 brought with it a change of residence. 
Some friends had expressed the wish that Mrs. Henderson 
would undertake the education of a select number of young 
ladies. The proposal was entertained. It seemed a de- 
sirable mode of liquidating the debt which the pecuniary 
loss of 1825 had entailed, and which, owing to the annual 
payment of interest upon the loan, as well as the outlay 
for such works as he published on his own account, was 
remaining undiminished. To carry out the project, a 
larger house was needed ; and from Canonbury, Dr. Hen- 
derson removed to the new abode he had selected at High- 
bury. These circumstances are recorded, because they are 



PARK TERRACE. 381 

inseparable from a just delineation of his character. His 
domestic life assumed an altered aspect; but the change 
only widened, without weakening his sympathies and kind- 
nesses. Beautifully did he accommodate himself to every 
needful arrangement. His study was now smaller than it 
had been : but he cheerfully parted with all his super- 
numerary books, and no less cheerfully allowed those of 
general reference to find their place on the school-room 
shelves. 

It would be a misrepresentation to describe him as ac- 
quiescing or submitting. On the contrary, he felt and he 
manifested a lively interest in the ongoings of the house- 
hold, and in the progress of the pupils. He no longer 
brought his book to the breakfast or tea table; but he 
threw his whole energy into the work of rendering those 
meal-times seasons of pleasant and profitable intercourse. 
Many were the questions, grave and gay — many the themes, 
speculative and practical — on which he delighted to set 
the mind at work. Numerous were the anecdotes which 
he told ; varied, in matter and in manner, the information 
which he imparted. The curiosities of history 'and geo- 
graphy were gathered up for the amusement of the youth- 
ful listeners. " Which is further to the West, Liverpool 
or Edinburgh ?" was a favourite question, to which none 
ever gave a right answer, who spoke from a first impres- 
sion. " Point to Jerusalem," or " Turn towards Arch- 
angel," would be the exercise prescribed, when inculcating 
the sich orientiren of the Germans, — -a habit on which, 
from early custom as a traveller, he was wont to lay a 
peculiar stress. Sometimes he would volunteer more sys- 
tematic modes of instruction for the benefit of those who 
were older, — undertaking a course of evening-lessons on 
ecclesiastical history, or devoting an hour or two once or 



382 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

twice a week in some rare case where a pupil had turned 
her attention to the Hebrew or the Greek. 

He seemed to find an intense enjoyment in this contact 
with a group of young fresh spirits. To them it was a 
pleasure, as well as an advantage, to be brought within 
the circle of his daily influence. They have borne many 
a testimony to their remembrance of his character and 
worth. "The thought of dear Dr. Henderson," writes 
one, " with his considerate kindness, his readiness to im- 
part knowledge, his friendly interest in all of us, is one of 
my pleasantest recollections of Highbury days. I think I 
can see him now holding the door for us to pass, paying 
to us the almost chivalrous courtesy which his venerable 
years and his scholarly attainments might well have ex- 
cused his showing to such young ones ; but that little act 
left an abiding impression, at least on one of them. In 
thinking of his lovely Christian spirit, his entire simplicity 
of character, it seems to me as if the summons ' Come up 
hither ' must have found him entirely calm and joyful, yet 
expecting no great, at least, no entire change, but only a 
complete realization of the blessedness he had already 
found." The above lines were penned only for the eye of 
friendship. The writer of them, will (it is hoped) excuse 
their introduction. The reader will feel that they could 
not with propriety have been omitted. To his students 
he was known to say, at the opening of a session, "In 
your conduct towards each other, act the gentleman : l be 
courteous 5 is an apostolic injunction which you cannot 
violate without offending God." In so speaking, as in all 
his speaking, he was a consistent teacher. He enjoined 
only that which he uniformly aimed to carry out in his 
life. "■ Let us have orthopraxy as well as orthodoxy" was 
from his lips no meaningless utterance. 



LOVE OF THE YOUNG. 

His interest in the young had other opportunities of 
manifesting itself. Year after year he was requested by a 
friend, at the head of a very flourishing private academy 
in the neighbourhood of London, to assist in the examina- 
tion of the boys. One of his brief addresses, delivered on 
such an occasion, is found among his papers; and it con- 
tains a few lines which are appropriate to the present 
connection : — 

"It is always delightful to my mind to be brought into contact 
with the ingenuousness, the inquisitiveness, and the ardour of youth ; 
but with a single exception, I know of nothing that excites more 
pleasurable emotions in my breast than to see a number of young 
persons assembled for the vigorous prosecution of those studies, which 
cannot but have an important influence in moulding their future 
career, or, at all events, in enabling them (if rightly improved) to 
shape and pursue that career with pleasure and advantage to them- 
selves, and comfort and benefit to all who are connected with them. 
The exception to which I advert, as still more interesting and de- 
lightful, is, when I see the young coming forward publicly to unite 
themselves to the people of God, as members of the visible church of 
Christ. Next to the period of their actual conversion to God, that 
is indeed the most important and interesting epoch of their lives. 
They then avow themselves to be the Lord's ; they renounce the 
world as their portion ; and declare that, henceforth, their life — be 
it long or short — shall be unreservedly devoted to God 

" But to return to your present position and circumstances 

I trust you will feel the importance of giving all diligence to im- 
prove by the means of instruction with which you are favoured in 
this school. These means, I need not say, are distinguishingly ap- 
propriate and valuable ; and you will be greatly wanting to your- 
selves, if you do not profit by them. If through indolence, or in any 
other way, you should neglect to improve them, not only will all the 
money which your parents have expended upon your education have 
been thrown away upon you, but your prospects for life will be blasted ; 
habits will be formed which you will carry with you through life ; 
and the sun which at an early period promised to shine forth with 
unclouded brightness throughout a long day, will be shrouded with 
clouds, and at the evening of your days will sink into impenetrable 
gloom. May the God of heaven avert such a course and such a 
termination! 



384 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

" I have adverted to the formation of habits. Of this you cannot 
be too careful. As these are now acquired — be they good, or be 
they bad — they will not only cling to you in after life, but they will 
grow with your growth, and strengthen with your strength. Be 
ever on your guard against waste of time ; indolence ; and a wan- 
dering of the thoughts from object to object. Strive to acquire fixed 
and intense habits of thought. Whatever be the subject of study, 
bend your thoughts to it. Keep it ever in view. Bid everything 
' Begone ! ' that would interrupt you. Whatever is worth doing at 
all is worth doing well. Never be satisfied with the mere superficial 
aspect of things. Dig deep, and rich mines will be opened as your 
reward. 

" Hold everything in the shape of vice in utter abhorrence. Re- 
sist with resolute determination and noble independence of mind 
every solicitation to evil. Be assured, those are not your friends, 
but your enemies, whatever appearance of friendship they may as- 
sume, who would tempt you to sin. Live in the fear of God. Realize 
His presence. Remember that His eye is ever upon you. Seek at 
all times to please Him; and then you may expect that His blessing 
will crown all your exertions with success. 

" I add no more. May you have health to prosecute your studies 
with diligence and vigour. And may we all be spared to meet you 
at Midsummer, to witness the results of your successful application ! " 

Time after time, he had been accompanied on these 
yearly visits by his friend Dr. Halley : but the summer of 
1839 saw the latter vacating the tutorship at Highbury, in 
order to accept a pastorate at Manchester. It was a matter 
of sorrow to Dr. Henderson thus to lose the co-operation 
of one who had laboured by his side in so unvaryingly 
kind and cordial a spirit. But if, on the first intimation 
of the change, there had been aught of personal anxiety 
mingled with the friendly regret, the former was speedily 
dissipated on the appointment to office of the Rev. J. H. 
Godwin, who, as having been formerly a student under his 
tuition in that College, was already known and esteemed 
by him. It was about this time also that the Rev. Henry 
Rogers, who for several years had given Lectures at High- 
bury, was invited to Spring Hill College, Birmingham ; 



COLLEAGUES. 385 

and occasion was taken by the Highbury Committee to 
effect a change upon a larger scale by instituting a third 
tutorship. The new office was entrusted to Dr. William 
Smith, who had likewise attended the college-classes in 
previous years, and was consequently no stranger. With 
both his new colleagues, Dr. Henderson found that he 
could work harmoniously and happily. He held the 
learning of both in high esteem; but as he was necessarily 
brought more into contact with the resident than with the 
non-resident tutor, and as he likewise had a greater fami- 
liarity with the Greek of the New Testament than with 
that of the classics, it was with Mr. Godwin that he had 
most opportunity of forming a cordial and abiding friendship. 
In the year 1840, Dr. Henderson received the title of 
Doctor in Divinity, simultaneously from Amherst College 
and from the University of Copenhagen. It was pleasing 
to find that strangers were friendly, and that old friends 
were not forgetful. There were others beside himself 
who were gratified by the token of honour, and who 
evinced their sympathy in a respectful and graceful con- 
gratulation : — 

" Rlyerend and dear Sir, — We have heard with much pleasure 
that the University of Copenhagen has conferred upon you the 
degree of Doctor in Divinity, — and although we feel assured that 
your profound and varied learning is too widely known and too well 
appreciated to render honourable titles essential to the celebrity of 
your name, yet rejoicing in every tribute of respect paid to one 
whom we all so highly esteem, we should be doing violence to our 
feelings, were we to refrain on this occasion from offering you, as we 
now beg to do, our hearty congratulations. 

" We are, dear Sir, yours respectfully, 

"The Students of Highbury College. 
(Signed) "Newman Hall, Chairman. 
" Highbury College, Jan. 19, 1841. 
" To' the Rev. E. Henderson, Ph.D., D.D., etc. etc." 
2 c 



386 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

The year when these diplomas were received, brought to 
light new fruits of painstaking research and earnest thought. 
One of these works was only a short pamphlet, and that a 
controversial one, but it was on an important subject, and 
published at an important juncture.* It was, in the main, 
a reprint from a review inserted by him ten years earlier 
in the Congregational Magazine. The learned and devoted 
Mr. Greenfield, whom he highly esteemed as a scholar and 
valued as an acquaintance, had published, by way of reply 
to an article in the Asiatic Journal for 1829, his " Defence 
of the Serampore Mahratta Version of the New Testament," 
in which the translators had rendered the word Ba7rWgw by 
a term clearly denotive of immersion. In the course of this 
treatise, an assertion had been made that if the Bible Society 
were to withdraw their aid from the translation alluded to, 
they ought for the same reason to withdraw it from the 
churches of Syria, Arabia, Abyssinia, Egypt, Germany, 
Holland, Denmark, and Sweden, whose standard versions 
contained a similar rendering. This bold statement as to 
the Oriental and Continental versions was in perfect 
accordance with the teachings of a catechism, which in 
former times was not unfrequently bound with the hymn- 
books, ordinarily used in Baptist chapels. The catechism, 
nevertheless, was a very insufficient authority. Mr. Green- 
field was an admirable Orientalist, but he was not so well 
versed in the Scandinavian or Teutonic dialects. Dr. Hen- 
derson was prepared to enter into the question ; to point out 
the distinction between tauchen and taufen, dyppe and dobe, 
etc.; to exhibit the force of the preposition, mit wasser taufen, 

* "Baptism and the Bible Society. A letter to the Rev. A. Brandram, 
M.A., on the meaning of the word BcmTifa, and the manner in which it 
has been rendered in Versions sanctioned by the Bible Society. By the 
Rev. E. Henderson." London, 1840 (pp. 18). 



BIBLE TRANSLATION SOCIETY. 387 

dobe med vand, dopa med vatn, doopen met water, instead of 
in wasser, i vand, etc. He had likewise remarks to make on 
the Syriac, Coptic, and Arabic languages. But it would be 
out of place to enter on his critical remarks, which are ac- 
cessible to such as desire to investigate the subject. The 
circumstances of the reprint are those which demand a 
word or two. 

Attention had been excited by the projected establishment 
of a Bible Translation Society, for the express purpose, ac- 
cording to the second of its proposed rules, of issuing ver- 
sions of the Holy Scriptures " competently authenticated for 
fidelity, it being always understood that the words relating 
to the ordinance of baptism shall he translated by terms 
signifying immersion." The abettors of that restrictive 
scheme had presented a Memorial to the Bible Society on 
their refusal to support the Bengalee New Testament, 
which had given the above exclusive rendering to the 
controverted term ; and in their Appendix, they had laid 
much stress on the published opinions of Mr. Greenfield. 
It was needful at such a crisis to utter the timely Audi 
alteram partem. Hence the origin of the pamphlet, which 
came before the public as the protest of one who had strong 
views, and who would neither yield nor have others yield 
an iota to claims which were as unsafe as they were unjust; 
but, at the same time, as the protest of one who was seek- 
ing to promote, and not to hinder, the exercise of inter- 
denominational charity. "Your institution," he writes, 
"is catholic as the religion taught in the volume of inspi- 
ration which it was founded to circulate. It knows neither 
sect nor party. It favours no denominational predilections. 
Its motto is that of its document, f One Lord, One Faith, 
One Baptism/ It dares not, for any consideration, reverse 
the sacred order which this motto so distinctly recognises. 



388 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

Important as ( the one baptism' confessedly is, still it is sub- 
ordinate to the ( one faith,' and the e one Lord' on whom in 
His revealed character and offices that faith terminates." 

A pamphlet of this sort was of necessity variously re- 
ceived. The Tubermore controversialist, as a matter of 
course, took up his usual strain of invective. But there 
were others among the Baptists, who could do full justice 
both to the learning and to the spirit of the writer. A 
pamphlet was issued by one of their number, strongly 
condemning the Memorial, confirming Dr. Henderson's 
remarks on the Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic versions, and 
seconding his advice that the contested word be left in its 
present latitude as an untranslated term, — the only course 
whereby to secure " an exact equivalent, neither more nor 
less," — and the only course whereby neither section of the 
Church should be found taking an undue and ungenerous 
advantage.* The Rev. F. W. Gotch published a " critical 
examination of the rendering of the word Baint^w, with 
special reference to Dr. Henderson's animadversions," etc.; 
and his treatise was characterized by so much of learning 
on the one hand, and so much of candour and courtesy on 
the other, that it deserved and demanded an answer. Four 
pages in the Congregational Magazine for May, 1841, were 
devoted to this reply. A couple of pages in the same 
periodical for the November following, contained Mr. 
Gotch's rejoinder. Here the matter was allowed to rest. 
Neither party wished to carry it any further. The letter 
from Boxmoor expressed the writer's hope that he was 
taking a "final" leave of the controversy; and Dr. Hen- 
derson met his wish by allowing him the last word. The 

* " The Baptist Translation Society of the Baptists shown to be uncalled 
for and injurious: in a series of Letters to W. B. Gurney, Esq., by a 
Baptist." 1840. 



COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH. 389 

clouds, which had portended a storm, were no longer ob- 
scuring the horizon. The breeze had done its work, and 
the sunshine of Christian love broke forth with renewed 
and heightened brilliance. 

Dr. Henderson had another work now claiming his care. 
The first of his Commentaries was leaving the press.* So 
far from being a crude or hasty production, it had been the 
result of long, patient, earnest study. We have seen that 
the book of Isaiah had sometimes formed the basis of his 
readings with the fourth year's class at College. The more 
he studied this prophecy, the more he felt that something 
further ought to be attempted with a view to its sound ex- 
position. Vitringa, who stands out as the Coryphaeus in this 
department, was too prolix to be of general utility. The 
Germans had turned their attention to the theme ; but 
Rosenmiiller and Gesenius, Hitzig and Hendewerk, were 
all more or less tainted with neology. Ewald, TJmbreit, and 
Knobel, were, at most, only in preparation. Drechsler and 
Stier had not yet put pen to paper on the subject. In the 
English language, Bishop Lowth's version was esteemed 
the standard ; but it was far from satisfactory, in conse- 
quence of its many needless and conjectural emendations 
of the text. Jenour had written a work characterized by 
no little ability, but it was based on the principle of a 
double sense in the prophetic language. Barnes and 
Alexander had not yet sent over their contributions from 
America.f There was not only room, there was a necessity 

* "The Book of the Prophet Isaiah, translated from the original 
Hebrew, with a Commentary, critical, philological, and exegetical, to 
which is prefixed an Introductory Dissertation on the Life and Times of 
the Prophet ; the character of his style ; the authenticity and integrity of 
the book ; and the principles of prophetical interpretation. By the Pvev. 
E. Henderson, D.Ph., etc." London, 8vo, 1840 (pp. 450). 

f The Commentary of the former did not appear till my father's was 
almost through the press : Prof. Alexander's, not till 1846. 



390 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

for the undertaking of the task by one who for thirty years 
had devoted himself to the study of the Hebrew and its 
derived dialects ; — one, moreover, who possessed other than 
linguistic qualifications for the work. Professor Stowe has 
described the endowments and characteristics requisite for 
such an enterprise ; and few, perhaps, will fail to see, that 
in more or less perceptible degree, Dr. Henderson combined 
them all : — 

" Who, then, is the good Bible interpreter ? The good Bible in- 
terpreter is the thorough philologist, the strong logician, the sound 
theologian. He is endowed with the rare gift of common sense, he 
has a rich poetic temperament, and an intense sympathy with the 
Bible writers. He has a large heart, and an expansive intellect, 
superior to the unfairness of partisanship and the narrowness of 
prejudice. He is humble in his own eyes, and not puffed up with a 
conceit of his own attainments ; he is willing to learn from every 
quarter, and has sense enough to know that there is no quarter from 
which he cannot learn something. He who despises antiquity, or he 
who idolizes antiquity ; he who loves whatever is modern, or he who 
hates whatever is modern ; he who contemns the foreign and adores 
the home, or he who contemns the home and adores the foreign ; he who 
is in any respect one-sided or unbalanced, cannot be the good inter- 
preter. The good interpreter must love his work, and love and sympa- 
thize with his pupils, and love the souls of men; and, above all, must 
he love his God and Saviour with an all-absorbing, an unquenchable 
love. He must be a man of deep piety, of glowing faith, and in the 
continuous enjoyment of the presence and aid of the Holy Ghost. 
And with all this he must have the gift of expressing his thoughts 
in a clear, condensed, energetic style ; for it is a correct judgment 
of that great master of Biblical interpretation, John Calvin, ' prce- 
cipuam interpretis virtutem in perspicua brevitate esse positam? " * 

Some four or five years seem to have been occupied in the 
actual compiling of the volume. The sixth chapter, when 
completed, was inserted in the Congregational Magazine 
for Nov. 1837; and it afterwards received only the addi- 

* Bibliotheca Sacra. January, 1853. 



COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH. 391 

tion of a sentence or two, the fruit of subsequent reading. 
The plan of the work consists in a running translation at the 
head of each page, with notes below in double column. 
The translation is arranged according to the Hebrew 
rhythm, wherever the original takes the poetic form ; but 
no attempt has been made to reduce it to anything ap- 
proaching English verse, as this must have interfered with 
the maintenance of a strictly literal rendering. The ver- 
sion might easily have been made more elegant; but, if more 
free, it would have been less faithful. Whatever obscurity 
may occasionally attach to it by reason of its close adherence 
to the original, is dissipated on reference to the foot-note, 
which clearly developes the translator's acceptation of the 
several phrases, both in their independent and their con- 
nected form. He has termed it a Commentary " critical, 
philological, and exegetical." His critical remarks are 
distinguishingly marked by the steadfastness with which he 
abides by the ordinary text, where there is a possibility of 
receiving it as it stands, and where there is no overwhelm- 
ing amount of MS. evidence in favour of some other reading. 
In his philological remarks, it is generally considered that 
the predominant feature is the sparing and sober use which 
he makes of the Arabic. Wherever practicable, he brings 
out the force of the Hebrew word from instances of its recur- 
rence in other passages and other connections ; where he is 
obliged to have recourse to the cognate tongues, he avoids 
all far-fetched and fanciful analogies. This circumstance 
is the more noticeable, because his natural love for the com- 
parison of languages, and for the tracing of etymologies, 
would have been very apt to lead him astray, had not his 
good judgment kept a vigilant watch and a tight rein. 
There was a similar self-restraint in the entire character of 
the work. In the exegetical department, it was his con- 



TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

stant aim to evolve, without addition or diminution, the 
exact scope and force of the prophetic sayings, as at first 
uttered, and under a full view of the circumstances which 
attended their utterance. The style is very unlike that of 
his former productions. It is in perfect keeping with the 
nature of the work. It is marked hy brevity and conden- 
sation. If his early collegiate teachings were " exhaustive 
rather than suggestive," it was not so with his Commen- 
taries. Here he kept closely to the point, compressed his 
sentences, measured his words, said just what he had to say, 
and passed on without tarrying to make useful inferences 
or suggest moral reflections. 

Nothing would have been easier, nothing more delightful 
to him, than to have dwelt on the fulness of spiritual teach- 
ing that lies hidden under the inspired words ; but such 
was not his immediate province. His aim was to throw 
all possible light upon the letter of Scripture, and then 
leave the preacher or the school-instructor, to extract for the 
congregation or the class, as he himself did in his sermons, 
the marrow and the pith, the substance and the sentiment, 
of any selected text. There are a few who have deemed 
this and its companion-volumes chargeable with somewhat 
of " frostiness." If this were so, it arose not from the 
want of fire and fervour within the author's breast, nor 
from any lack of sympathy with the sacred writers or their 
exalted themes. It was with him the result of a settled 
principle. The principle was one which actuated him in 
daily life. " Let your moderation be known unto all men " 
was the rule which he made it his study to follow. If he 
rarely manifested either exhilaration or depression, it was 
not that he was destitute of sensibility, it was not that he 
had learned the art of masking what he felt, but it was 
because he had learned the happier art of regulating his 



COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH. 

emotions. So it was in his expository writings. He deemed 
it incumbent on him in works of this nature to suppress 
everything like actual or manifested excitement. The 
glow of feeling, if allowed to kindle into a flame, might 
have cast a flickering reflection ; and a false light may 
often be as fatal as a shadow. 

On the first appearance of this book, Dr. Henderson did 
not quite incur the " Wo " of those concerning whom "all 
men speak well." The adherents of verbal inspiration 
had a new cause of complaint, when they met with a dis- 
sertation on Isaiah's style, character, imagery, and diction. 
The strenuous advocates of a double sense were ready to 
pronounce the volume heretical, because it did not main- 
tain that the words of Scripture were positively and pri- 
marily meant to convey every truthful teaching which they 
may by any possibility suggest to the mind. Against its 
writer, therefore, as against Dr. Pye Smith and Professor 
Stuart, were raised the accusations of "neology," "ration- 
alism," and " gospel-infidelity." But he heeded not these 
misrepresentations. He could afford a smile at the high- 
sounding denunciation intended in the following sentence : 
" Displayed learning is the glittering Burmese chariot, in 
which Dr. Henderson's Commentary on the prophet Isaiah, 
is making its wide and desolating way through the Christian 
world;" — a statement which in no way impugned either 
the solid attainments of the author, or the general accepta- 
bility of his work ! The dire effects which were predicated, 
he saw no ground to apprehend. Nor did he see cause to 
parry such attacks as these. He knew that so over-violent 
an effort in throwing the javelin would conduce to the 
missing of its mark. He knew, what it was better still to 
know, that there was One who could bring forth his 
"righteousness as the light," and his "judgment as the 



394 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

noon-day." Nor was his confidence put to shame. Even 
humanly speaking, more were they who were for him than 
they which were against him. Nay, even his enemies were 
made to he at peace with him ; and the pamphleteer, who 
had hurled the aforesaid weapon, learned to accost him 
with deference and kindliness. 

The popularity of the book was precisely such as its 
more friendly reviewers had augured for it. Apparently, 
and in some measure really, too erudite for the multitude 
of ordinary Bible-students, to the professed scholar it was 
an invaluable aid. Its sale was slow, but steady ; and the 
course of years has only created for it an unceasing demand. 
The thoughts, which lie imbedded in it, are so translucent, 
while so accessible withal, that it requires no great effort 
to make them appreciable by the untutored mind. "A 
good critical work," wrote a clergyman, " is to me a 
great help in the devotional reading of the word of God. 
You get a clear idea of a passage. On that idea you may 
meditate ; and over it you may pray ; and then it gets well 
and effectually into your heart." There were many who 
read the work in this spirit, and who thus extended its 
usefulness. 

" I am yet expecting," wrote Dr. Eadie, some years 
afterwards, " another proof of your efficient scholarship in 
the form of a Commentary on Jeremiah, or some other of 
the prophets. It would be a noble monument to leave be- 
hind you, — an exposition of the entire prophetic scriptures, 
— -so brief, yet so comprehensive — as evangelical as it is 
scholarly — piety clothed in sound erudition." Such a 
monument was, in due time, almost reared. It was in 
further progress when the above note was penned. But 
the tracing of its elevation must come into notice under 
mention of a later date. 



SUMMER-TOURS. 395 

Amid labours so many, and studies so profound, it was 
needful that there should be seasons of relaxation ; and for 
one who in younger life had been so constant a traveller, 
it was necessary that there should be an occasional change 
of scene. Every summer was devoted to one or more 
longer or shorter tours. Sometimes the excursion was one 
that combined profit to others with pleasure to himself. 
The Missionary, Bible, and Tract Societies, repeatedly em- 
ployed him to join their deputations to the provinces ; and 
one such embassy he undertook in behalf of the College- 
funds. Everywhere he met with the most cordial recep- 
tion and unbounded hospitality. It is difficult to select 
instances where so many abound. The following contains 
a practical teaching which renders it worth recordal. 
Writing from Kendal, he says, — 

" I think I mentioned the kindness of the ' Friends.' It exceeds 
all I have ever experienced elsewhere. All the trips I make this 

week cost the Society nothing ; and Mr. B , a quaker at whose 

house in the country — a little paradise — I dined the other day, is to 
drive me and pay all my expenses on my route to Orton, Appleby, 
Kirkby Stephen, Brough, and Sedberg. What an example to our 
friends throughout the country who have horses, time, and money 
at their command ! " 

It was not the rich alone who showed their love to the 
Bible cause : — 

" We went to Brough. yesterday, where we held a meeting in the 
evening. Before going to the meeting, we called (by invitation) on 
a working blacksmith, who was confined to his house with a broken 
leg. He handed to us his annual subscription of a sovereign. The 
Bible Society (he said) was 'grand, grand!'" 

Many were the new friendships that were formed upon 
these tours; many the old ones that were renewed and 
ratified : — 

" Mr. Charlesworth, who attended all the meetings, drove most of 
the way to Ipswich with me. In Ipswich I found the aged patriarch 



396 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

Mr. Nottidge sitting up for me at half-past eleven o'clock. He 
has built a noble mansion for himself in the antique style, since I 
last slept under his roof twenty-one years ago. I am to be his guest, 
at least at night, during my stay in this part of the country. This 
morning I had to expound to ' the church in his house.'" 

A few days afterwards, he writes : — 

" At the close of the meeting at Wickham Market, as I was about 

to leave, a Mrs. C came up and shook hands with me, — one of 

my Copenhagen hearers thirty-three years ago ! " 

His anecdotes from abroad had to be told again and 
again. To himself, their repetition, when long continued, 
became at times a little wearisome. But the interest ex- 
cited by them gave the stimulus which the speaker needed, 
by reminding him that to most of his hearers the intelli- 
gence was new. His conversational powers were much 
taxed, but his fund of details was not easily to be ex- 
hausted. Reserved by nature, he had to be drawn out ; 
but he soon followed the lead, when the initiative had 
been taken. Never did he obtrusively bring forward his 
reminiscences in the parlour ; never did he, through false 
modesty, hold back the particulars which a social circle 
expressed the wish to hear. He bore in mind that he had 
to speak of what he had seen, and of what he had received, 
rather than of what he had done; and this recollection 
quickened him to the telling of it. Others would have 
surpassed him in the point and power with which they 
might have given the narrative ; but none could have 
excelled him in the artless straightforwardness and un- 
assumed simplicity with which he told his tale. 

A visit which he paid to Wales was connected with an 
engagement to preach for a few weeks to an English con- 
gregation at Ruthin. It was prior to the erection of the 
chapel in that town ; but he and his family, who had been 



SUMMER-TOURS. 397 

kindly invited to accompany him, were received beneath 
the hospitable roof of those who were the chief promoters 
of the rising interest. The morning service, held in the 
Welsh chapel, was conducted in both languages — short 
prayers and addresses being delivered alternately in Welsh 
and English. The afternoon service was entirely in the 
latter tongue. Easier to turn to account a theme that was 
engrossing the attention of the neighbourhood, he availed 
himself of the holding of the Assizes to preach a sermon 
suggested by that event. Having pre-intimated his design, 
there was much speculation as to the possibility of his 
preaching an Assize-sermon without having been "ap- 
pointed " to the duty ! But this was no insuperable diffi- 
culty to one who held his office as from on high, and not 
from men. " What shall I do when God riseth up ? and 
when He visiteth, what shall I answer him ?" was the ap- 
propriate text on which he founded his discourse, and 
based its searching appeals. 

There were other occasions, on which his tours were 
undertaken for mere recreation. Thus it was that he 
visited Ireland and Scotland. Before the year 1840 had 
arrived, he computed that he had gone over 80,000 miles; 
and he had considerable distances yet to traverse before he 
laid down the pilgrim's staff. His admiration of scenery 
was in no way abated by his remembrance of what he had 
beheld in distant lands. He was not one of those who 
always throw a shade on the present by invidiously calling 
up some memory of the past. He was fully alive to the 
variety which is discernible in the works of nature, and 
he knew how to seize on what there was of novel in every 
landscape which stretched before him. If the barrenness 
of some Icelandic scenes had conveyed to his mind a pe- 
culiar sense of the desolate and the terrific, he derived 



398 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

from the bleak mountain-scenery in the Isle of Skye an 
impression of the grand and the sublime. 

SUgachan Lm. 

" Yesterday morning having the promising appearance of fine 
weather we started at an early hour in a gig. (I say we and our, 

my companion heing a Mr. McD , of Stirling, a well-informed 

and agreeable traveller.) Reaching Kilbride, we rowed over a loch 
or large inlet of the sea, till we came near to Dr. Macalister's, where 
two of our steam-boat companions were to join us. The Doctor (M.D.) 
accompanied them to the boat, and gave us a pressing invitation to 
return with them in the evening, and take our beds for a night or 
two at his house ; but learning that besides our two friends, there 
were four other gentlemen quartered upon him, we persisted in re- 
fusing to accept his hospitality. The two friends just referred to 

were the Rev. Charles W , minister of the Free Church at , 

and Mr. , a nephew of the late celebrated Dr, Chalmers ; both 

truly Christian men. Mr. W performed family- worship for us 

at the Inn, — he not suspecting that I was a minister, though we 
had had much religious conversation. 

"After rowing round a bold projecting shore, consisting chiefly 
of rugged cliffs and dark caverns, we came to the Spar Cave, which 
we entered with lighted candles, and found to be a most enchanting 
place. The entrance to it is 30 feet in breadth, 500 in length, and 
100 in height; the passage beyond is 7 feet wide, and 15 or 20 
high : — 60 feet of its length are level, 50 have a steep ascent ; then 
a level of a few feet. During the ascent of 28 feet further, the sides 
are white as ice. From a breadth of 8 feet, covered by a bright 
and dazzling vaulted roof, sustained on the right by a grand Gothic 
column, the passage expanded, as we advanced, to 10 feet in width 
and 40 in height, and terminated in a magnificent saloon of sur- 
passing splendour, nearly circular, and of 20 feet in diameter, — its 
walls entirely composed of sparry incrustations, brilliant and spark- 
ling as diamonds polished by the art of the lapidary. In the bottom 
is a pool of pellucid water, 5 or 6 yards broad, and 6 feet in depth, 
surrounded by the most fanciful mouldings, resembling white marble. 

" Having drunk a horn of the cold water, and having sung ' God 
save the Queen,' which resounded magnificently through the cave, 
we re-imbarked, and after a row of four or five miles we landed, and 
proceeding about 300 yards up the rocks, descended to Loch Corriskin, 
a fresh-water lake of two miles in length, and surrounded by a region 
of the most dreary barrenness of any I ever saw in all my wander- 
ings. Almost overhead beetle high precipitous mountains, the tops 



VISIT TO THE ISLE OF SKYE. 399 

of which are cut into all imaginable fantastic shapes ; while at our 
feet lay the lake, from whose mirror-surface reflected in the most 
perfect manner the shadows of the surrounding mountains. I can 
literally adopt the lines of Sir Walter Scott in his ' Lord of the 
Isles:'— 

"' • many a waste I've wandered o'er, 

"' Clombe many a crag, cross' d many a moor;' — 

But I can add, — 

'"A scene so rude, so wild as this, 
" ' Yet so sublime in barrenness, 
" ' Ne'er did my wandering footsteps press, 
" ' Where'er I happ'd to roam.' 

Having- scrambled over the granite blocks to the upper end of the 
lake, we returned to the lower, when our two young friends took to 
their boat, while I and my Stirling companion ascended with great 
difficulty a mountain pass above the surface of the lake ; and our 
guide, after pointing out to us this solitary Inn, left us to pursue 
our way.* 

Dr. Henderson's foreign travelling was by no means at 
an end. Two of his visits to the Continent need a special 
reference. The first was in 1843, when he resolved once 
more to visit Copenhagen, that he might give his daughter 
an opportunity of seeing the metropolis in which she was 
born. It was no small privilege to be conducted thither 
under the guidance of so experienced a traveller and so kind 
a father. A few particulars of the tour must be given from 
personal recollection, as there is in this country no other 
source whence to obtain the testimony. It was only three 
weeks that were devoted to the entire journey. Via Ham- 
burgh, we proceeded to Kiel, and thence hired a convey- 
ance to take us on a visit to the interior. The road was 
heavy, and the travelling slow, until we approached Alten- 
hof, where the enterprising spirit of Count Heventlow had 

* The above letter is inserted out of chronological order. It is dated 
July, 1848. 



400 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

effected a signal improvement. After emerging from the 
shadow of the plantation which bounds his estate, we soon 
caught sight of Eckernfiorde, as calm and tranquil then as 
were the glassy waters on whose shore it lies, but destined, 
ere some six years had sped their course, to be the scene of 
tumult and conflict far more dire than was ever exhibited 
by the fiercest tossing of those Baltic waves. Another three 
and a half German miles brought us to Schleswig, which 
was our point of destination. But here my father was 
disappointed of attaining the main object of his visit. He 
had hoped once more to see his already aged friend, Dean 
Callisen. But the latter, who had succeeded to the office 
of General-Superintendent Adler, was absent on a visita- 
, tion of his parishes. These were seventy in number, and 
among them he had to perform an annual circuit. His 
absence at this time was felt to be a privation ; for hope 
had dwelt ardently on the expected interview. A moment's 
silent regret gave place to a successful effort to make the 
rest of the evening pass cheerfully away. Full well my 
father knew each point of interest in the surrounding 
scenery. He could indicate the millenial-aged church of 
Haddebye, on the Sley's further bank; could note the direc- 
tion in which lay at a distance Flensburg, the cradle of the 
Anglo-Saxon race ; and then he could draw attention to the 
imposing frontage of the Gottorp Palace, within whose 
walls he had been so often honoured with a welcome, but 
from which the venerable Landgrave had long since 
passed away.* There is no doubt that many a friend of 
the Bible Society in Schleswig would have been glad to 
form my father's acquaintance ; but he had now no errand 
to warrant his visit, and he was one whose native modesty 

* In 1836, Frederick of Hesse succeeded his father as Stattholder of 
Schleswig-Holstein. 



VISIT TO DENMARK. 401 

shrank from aught that might savour of intrusion or for- 
wardness. 

Retracing our steps to Kiel, we took the steamer for 
Copenhagen, which we reached at an early hour on Thurs- 
day, August 10th. The morning was spent in a round of 
visits. The principal were to Mr. Hammerich, one of my 
father's earliest friends in Denmark ; Mr. Matthiessen, a 
Moravian minister, whom he had known at Uddevalla ; 
Mr. Boesen (S. T.), an early friend of the Bible cause; and 
Bishop Mynster, whose son and daughter took us to see 
the far-famed " Lady-Church." It was intensely interest- 
ing to watch the meetings with these early acquaintances. 
To some there had been no announcement of the visitor's 
name. Hence the sudden changes of expression which that 
day were beheld in swift succession on many a face ; — first, 
the vague look of a polite but distant salutation — then 
the bewildered expression of enquiry — the momentaneous 
bursting forth of a long-eclipsed remembrance — the search- 
ing gaze of incredulous surprise — and, at length, the beam- 
ing smile and cordial embrace of joyous recognition. In- 
vitations poured in on every hand, and each evening found 
us guests at some hospitable board. 

On Friday morning, the Rev. Peter Hammerich con- 
ducted us to such of the wonders of the city as were of 
recent date; — the Thorwaldsen Museum, then nearly 
finished, and receiving its final decorations; the chef- 
d'ceuvres, which, at the Palace in the Kongens Ny-Torv, 
w T ere waiting the time of their removal to the new build- 
ing ; and next in point of interest, the private studio of 
the venerable artist .* My father would have been glad 



* The great sculptor was at that time in his seventy-fourth year. He 
died within the course of the next twelvemonth. 

2 D 



402 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

to exchange a word or two with him about his paternal 
island; but he had just gone out for a morning's stroll. On 
his table lay the glasses he had been wearing, and round the 
room were suspended a few choice paintings, such as even 
the eye of genius could admire. The afternoon was spent 
at the country -residence of the English Charge d'Affaires, 
P. Browne, Esq., a warm friend of the Bible and Tract 
Societies. 

On Monday, my father renewed his acquaintance with 
the well-known author, Herr Christian Molbeck, who con- 
ducted us through the spacious saloons of the " Royal 
Library ;" and after a visit to Professor Martin Hammerich* 
and his lady, we went by invitation to dine at the episcopal 
residence. The Bishop had been well described by Mr. 
Hamilton, who in his w T ork on Denmark, thus writes : His 
was " one of the most dignified figures and one of the 
benignest countenances I had ever seen. Save the warmth 
of heart, and dignity of character, and holiness of life, 
manifest at the first contact, there had been nothing to re- 
mind me that I was in the presence of the Primate of Den- 
mark and a renowned divine." The same cordial urbanity 
and unpretending affability marked the entire family, 
though with variety of characteristic expression. In the 
Bishop himself there was a pleasantly contemplative quie- 
tude of manner ;f his lady, on the contrary, evinced so much 

* Author of " Om Ragnaroksmythen og dens Betydning i den oldnord- 
iske Religion," Copenh. 1836, a mythological work favourably noticed in 
the note to Mallet's "Northern Antiquities" in Bonn's Antiquarian 
Library, p. 484. 

f "Selbst seine Begeisterung," says P. L. Moller, in allusion to his 
writings, " brennt nur wie ein ruhiges, in der Reflexion abgekuhltes Feuer" 
(see Preface to Oersted's " Naturwissenschaft in ihrem Verhaltniss zur 
Dichtkunst und Religion." 1850). So far as the description can be accepted 
as complimentary, it may be received. The ruhig may be admitted ; the 
abgekiihlt may be regarded as a doubtful epithet. 



VISIT TO DENMARK. 403 

of enthusiastic vivacity as made it hard to believe she was 
a Dane. This energy of spirit and manner was fully in- 
herited by the younger daughter, to whom the English 
language had become an object of study, and who was 
making herself acquainted with its literature. The elder 
daughter was present with her husband, a zealous clergy- 
man who was ready to supply my father with the informa- 
tion he craved as to the progress and aspect of Christianity 
throughout the length and breadth of the land. The royal 
patronage, it appeared, was still extended to the Bible and 
Tract Societies ; and Queen Caroline Amelia warmly be- 
friended their efforts. 

The guests at the Bishop's table were numerous. Most 
conspicuous, by reason of their shining and well-merited 
tokens of honour, were a Norwegian Justiciary, of high 
repute, who was on a visit to the Danish capital ; and the 
late Professor Hans Christian Oersted, who had that year re- 
ceived his degree of M.D. from the University of Erlangen. 
He had long been a friend of Bishop Mynster, though their 
views on some weighty points by no means harmonized, 
and though they were at one time brought into the colli- 
sion of a public controversy. Oersted's " Geist in der 
Natur" could not but be regarded by the Bishop as con- 
taining sentiments that leaned toward Pantheism, or 
might lead to it ; and the theologian, when he contended 
for the provisional suspension of some of nature's laws in 
consequence of Adam's fall, was not likely to meet with 
sympathy from the philosopher, who, while he believed in 
" the love-message of Christianity," held the laws of nature 
to be eternal and unchangeable. 

All such points of dispute, however, were kept in abey- 
ance at this festive board. The conversation was extremely 
animated, but the variety of languages spoken, and the pre- 



404 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

dominance of the Danish, rendered it impossible for me to 
gather much of what was passing. One incident contributed 
to the afternoon's amusement. When the ladies and gentle- 
men had, according to usual custom, simultaneously retired 
to the drawing-room, their host fetched a volume from his 
library, and begged to invite attention to an article which 
he was about to read for their edification. It proved to be 
a biographic notice of my father, inserted in the "Neueste 
Conversations-Lexicon fur alle Stande." After a passing 
but eulogistic reference to his Bible labours and geographi- 
cal observations in Iceland and Russia, there followed a 
statement to the intent that he had been attracted to visit 
the Indians of South America ; that, together with the 
eminent painter Choris, the fellow-traveller of Otto von 
Kotzebue, he had in the year 1827 undertaken a journey 
among those tribes ; but that in 1828, — on a specified day 
of a given month — he and his companion had been beset 
by robbers, and barbarously murdered, on the high road 
between Vera Cruz and Xalapa. To most of the listeners 
the intelligence was as novel as it appeared mysterious. To 
my father it was no new discovery. His obituary, founded 
upon this article, and inserted in a Danish periodical, had 
been forwarded to him by a friend in London some four 
years earlier. He had written a letter to Dean Callisen 
on the subject, and had prefaced it with the words, 
" Erschrecken Sie Sich nicht, mein theurer Freund ; ich 
bin kein Gespenst;" — ("Do not be alarmed, my dear 
Friend ; I am no ghost !") The Dean had sent an answer 
to the following effect : — 

" It is long, my dear Henderson, since any letter caused me so 
agreeable a surprise as the one received from you yesterday evening 
vid Christian sfeld. God be praised that the tragic account of your 
fate in America is utterly unfounded. The rumour had spread in 



VISIT TO DENMARK. 405 

various quarters, and when it had found its way into print through 
the medium of that otherwise very excellent [clem ubrigens sehr 
guten) Conversations-lexicon by Brockhaus,* it seemed a duty no 
longer to withhold it from the public in these parts, who take so 
deep an interest in all that concerns you." 

The origin of the false report was subsequently traced. A 
gentleman from South America informed us that the story 
was true so far as it regarded the painter, and that a Dr. 
Henderson had shared his fate. The inference that it was 
the Dr. Henderson, already known as a traveller, was by 
no means unnatural. The inaccuracy seemed startling 
enough, when the Bishop placed it thus vividly in contrast 
with the actual truth. But as a single error, and pertain- 
ing to the life of one among earth's millions, it was not a 
disclosure which could in any way affect the value of the 
Lexicon in question. Its merits or demerits could not rest 
on so narrow a base. 

After a visit to the Rosenborg Slot, a palace-museum of 
National History, we went by steamer on Tuesday after- 
noon to Elsineur, where the whole of Wednesday was spent 
in calling on such as yet survived of my father's Sabbath- 
congregation, and of his week-day pupils. The same 
hearty welcome attended his steps here as in the metropo- 
lis ; though not, for the most part, the same astonishment, 
as the news of his visit to the country had already reached . 
Changes many, and great, my father here perceived. The 
old had passed away ; the middle-aged were creeping into 
years ; the young had grown beyond all knowledge. But 
to dwell on this would be only to rehearse an ordinary tale. 

By Thursday's earliest boat we returned to the capital, 

* It does not follow that this Encyclopaedia was the first to contain 
the error. Certainly it was not the last, for one of 1850 gives the same 
information. 



406 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

expecting a few quiet hours to prepare for our final de- 
parture from Copenhagen. But far otherwise was our time 
to be employed. No sooner had we landed, than two gen- 
tlemen accosted us, handed us into a conveyance that was 
in waiting, and drove us to the Inn, at which we had taken 
up our quarters. Having reached our room, Professor 
Finn Magnusson (state-counsellor), and T. G. Repp, Esq., 
(well-known as an author and grammarian), both natives 
of Iceland, proceeded to unfold their errand. In the name 
of some of their younger fellow-countrymen, who were 
resident in the Danish capital, and pursuing their studies 
at the University, they read the following address, of which 
they presented two copies, one in Icelandic, and the other 
in English : — 

" Eight Rev. Sir, Dr. E. Henderson, — In addressing you, as a 
renowned and kind friend of our fathers, our native island, and our- 
selves, having for some time lost sight of you, our mind is imme- 
diately directed to your native country. No doubt, your nation is 
much mightier among the nations of the earth than ours, but still 
we think there is some resemblance in the national character, as 
there is likewise some similarity in respect of soil and climate. We 
have also had frequent intercourse with your nation and found there 
trusty and kind friends and support, which we always are happy to 
bear in mind ; among these may be mentioned the illustrious Sir 
Joseph Banks, through whom the generous kindness of Britons 
first was shown to Iceland. And now — when we address a man 
who by piety and humanity has established for himself a lasting 
memory with our countrymen, who has there strengthened the 
kingdom of God and propagated His holy word, and moreover given 
our nation such a testimony before other nations, and more specially 
before that one, with whom we wish to possess a fair reputation — 
which is a double spur to us to render ourselves worthy of such a 
testimony — nothing can be more natural than to recollect, that this 
man also is a Briton. 

" On this account we carry to you, Right Reverend and worthy 
Sir, a unanimous and cordial address of thanks in behalf of our- 
selves and our parents, of whom every one, high and low, still recol- 
lects, and will with love and respect long remember your journey in 



ICELANDIC ADDRESS. 407 

Iceland ; but your short stay in this city prevents us from showing 
our gratitude in any other way than by a plain address in writing, 
which under other circumstances we should have wished to evince 
in such a manner, as might have been better corresponding to your 
high merits and to those feelings, by which we are animated. 
(Signed) " In fidem translations, 

" F. Magnusson. 
" Thorl. Gudm. Repp.* 
" Copenhagen, the VWi August, 1843." 

We all continued to stand round the table while speeches 
of presentation and of thanks were duly made.f Counsellor 
Finn Magnusson then kindly offered to take us over the 
Museum of Scandinavian Antiquities. Had time per- 
mitted a leisurely survey of its stores, it would have been 
a surpassing treat to effect it under the guidance of an 
escort so celebrated for his antiquarian knowledge; but 
the merest glimpse was the utmost that we durst take. 
In the meanwhile, the Icelandic students, apprized of the 
direction in which we had gone, met us in groups of five, 
six, or more, tendering to my father their most respectful 
salutations as they passed. After a few hurried visits to 
take leave of the friends to whom such an act of courtesy- 
was due, we returned to the hotel, but not to quietude. 
Ever and anon a new face was ushered into the room, as 
one young Icelander after another arrived to testify his 
esteem. Various were the pretexts of the callers, but all 
were actuated by the same kind and grateful feeling. One 
had a book to present. Another introduced himself as the 
son, or the brother, of some one whom my father had seen 

* The Icelandic copy has thirty signatures in addition to these. 

f It is perhaps but right to mention that the proof which my father 
had given of continued remembrance, by giving to his child (who was 
born on the Anniversary-day of the British and Foreign Bible Society's 
formation) a name commemorative of the Ultima Thule, which had been 
most peculiarly his own sphere of Bible-labour, was referred to with 
gratification and interest. 



408 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

and known in one or other of the Icelandic districts. 
Among them was a son of the Sysselman Thorlacius, of 
whose family mention has already been made. It was 
with the greatest difficulty, that we contrived to be in 
readiness for the afternoon-steamer. As soon as we stepped 
on board, we found not only Professor and Mrs. Martin 
Hammerich waiting for a farewell-glance, but also two of 
the Icelanders whom we had already seen, — handsome 
specimens of their race, tall, fair, florid, frank-looking, 
with intelligence and animation in their beaming eyes. 
They had come to the vessel in order to announce that 
their companions would be on the promenade which skirts 
the entrance of the haven, and would thence offer their 
parting recognition. With this final demonstration closed 
the excitements of that long-remembered day. The re- 
cipient of these honours bore them with his usual outward 
calmness ; but he spoke words of gratitude, and he was one 
who felt more than he expressed. He loved the island on 
which he had spent so many happy hours ; and the tribute, 
offered by her sons, he accepted with unmixed pleasure, 
because he accepted it as a kindness, and not as a due. 

We returned through Kiel to Hamburgh, where my 
father preached twice on the Sunday at the English chapel. 
The following day we visited the Booth family at Flodbeck, 
lingered awhile beside the poet's grave at Ottensee, and 
spent the evening with a family who had once belonged to 
my father's charge at Gottenburgh. 

In the following year, the wanderer trod new ground. 
His attention had been drawn* to the condition of the 
Vaudois churches. It was thought by some in this country 
that memorials, in behalf of the Protestants in the Pied- 
montese valleys, should be presented to government, solicit- 
ing an interference to gain from the Sardinian court the 



THE YATJDOIS. 409 

removal of certain minor grievances, to which they were 
still subjected from their Romanist neighbours ; such as, 
the interruption of their services, the limitation of their 
traffic, and the frequent (though not legally-sanctioned) 
entrapment of their children into the convent. A local 
investigation as to the merits of the question appeared 
needful. Kindly furnished by Sir Augustus J. Foster with 
a letter of introduction to the British Ambassador at Turin, 
Dr. Henderson dedicated the summer of 1844 to Piedmont. 
He visited the fifteen parishes, into which the Yaudois 
territory was then divided ; conversed with the clergy ; 
instituted every needful enquiry ; and returned home with 
the conviction, that while the influence of England was in- 
valuable as a safe-guard, this influence, to be permanently 
efficient, must reserve its more active manifestations till the 
hour of need. Hence he urged Protestant Christians to 
keep a watch over these churches, so as to be " constantly 
on the alert, and ready on the first symptoms of a determina- 
tion to crush the Vaudois, to come forward and rouse the 
British Lion in their defence," but yet reminded them that 
it would be most unwise to have recourse needlessly to 
diplomatic intervention. 

" The Vaudois themselves have no desire that foreign states should 
so interpose, except in case of dire necessity. They are accused of 
reposing that confidence in other potentates, which they withhold 
from their own * but it is a fact which cannot be placed in too broad 
a light, that they have never, in a single instance, compromised their 
character for loyalty to their Sovereign, and have carried on no cor- 
respondence with foreign powers, since the time of the great per- 
secution, when they were threatened with utter extermination. 
Whatever movements have taken place in their favour, have been 
purely the result of the spontaneous feelings of humanity, justice, 
and Christianity, excited from without."* 

* "The Vaudois: comprising observations made during a tour to the 
valleys of Piedmont ; together with remarks, introductory and inter- 



410 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

The wisdom of non-interference was confirmed when 
Charles Albert of Sardinia issued the edict of 1848, whereby 
he granted to the Vaudois an equality of civil rights and a 
participation in university privileges. 

The tour of the parishes was effected by Dr. Henderson 
on foot — a circumstance which evinces the vigour he re- 
tained at sixty years of age. It would be superfluous to 
enter on details, which have been laid before the public at 
a comparatively recent date, and are accessible to such as 
desire the perusal. Two extracts only shall be made : — 

" July 24tli. — At the early hour of 5 o'clock I set out for Rodoret, 
on my way to Prali, accompanied by Mons. Canton, who kindly 
offered to be my guide through the intricate and difficult Alpine 
region which it was necessary to pass. We began immediately to 
ascend, but after a short time we descended again into the vale of 
Salsa, and then commenced the ascent of the mountain so called, 
which I found more rapid and fatiguing than any I had yet at- 
tempted to climb. That of Montanvert, near Chamouni, is nothing 
to it. For about an hour, we were sheltered from the rays of the sun 
by the thick forest of pines which covered its northern side, but after 
we had got about half-way up, they gradually became thinner ; the 
mountain became more steep, and the heat more oppressive. Having 
every now and then resolutely forced our way upwards for a few 
minutes, we were compelled to sit down to rest on the stones, or the 
roots of trees — the ground being too damp from the copious dews 
of the preceding night to render it prudent for us to recline upon 
it. It was specially during these intervals of repose that I enjoyed 
the company of Mons. Canton. We sat and surveyed the mountains 
and valleys, the hamlets and cottages which comprise his parish, 
and talked of the value of souls, the preciousness of the Bible, the 
wonders of redemption, and the adaptation of the Gospel to relieve 
the woes and supply the wants of fallen humanity. The scenes and 
transactions of former days in the regions before us also furnished 
interesting themes of conversation. It was this very mountain of 
Salsa that the Vaudois crossed and re-crossed when forcing their 
way back to their native possessions. Every mountain, valley, 

spersed, respecting the origin, history, and present condition of that in- 
teresting people. By E. Henderson, D.D." London, 1845 ; pp. 262. 
(Pref., p. vi.) 



THE VATJD0IS. 411 

ravine, defile, river, torrent, village, and field, has some tale to tell 
of the endurance or the bravery of the persecuted. The sound of 
the wind acting upon the rocks is construed figuratively, not super- 
stitiously, into the sighs and groans of the ancient martyrs. Some 
time before we reached the summit, the trees entirely disappeared ; 
we lost at length every vestige of a path, and were frequently 
obliged to creep up on our hands and feet — so steep and slippery was 
the grassy ascent. When we had ultimately gained the highest 
point, we lay down and enjoyed the interesting prospect. Around 
us, rhododendrons and forget-me-nots were scattered in great pro- 
fusion. Deep in the valley before us lay the village of Rodoret, and 
high up to the west the Balma Alp, the sides of which were covered 
with snow. Beyond Rodoret lay the mountain-ridge of Galmon, 
which separates the valley of the former name from that of Prali ; 
while, towards the east, the Alps in the direction of Angrogna 
crowded into the prospect. 

" We now descended by a very steep pathway, which led us 
through a sterile and uninviting region to Rodoret, where we spent 
some time with the pastor, Mons. Daniel Buffe. On enquiry, I found 
that he had been only a few months in this remote and lonely vil- 
lage. The church was formerly annexed to that of Prali, the minis- 
ter of which had to walk to this place in winter among the rugged 
precipices and frozen snows — almost every step he took being at 
imminent risk of life. To enable them to climb the icy pathways 
with anything like safety, the Vaudois wear clogs under their shoes, 
the soles and heels of which are studded with spikes more than an 
inch long. Mons. B. showed me a pair which he uses when he goes 
to visit his people during the winter months. The inhabitants of 
this parish are poorly off for the necessaries of life. The little 
patches which they cultivate on the sides of the mountains are often 
swept away by avalanches ; and even when their crops of maize, 
rye, and potatoes, are suffered to come to maturity, the harvest is 
anything but luxuriant." — Pages 185 — 187. 

It was not long that the young minister of Rodoret was 
spared to continue his labours. His life was early brought 
to a termination by the very danger intimated in the fore- 
going paragraph. The storms of the next ensuing winter 
brought down the fatal avalanche that destroyed the pas- 
tors house, and buried father, mother, child, and servant, 
beneath the ruins. 



412 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

The second extract shall have reference to the minister 
of Pramol : — 

" July 26th. — It was noticed at the close of a former chapter that 
I went from St. Germain to visit Pramol, the only remaining parish 
in which I had not been. The path is equal in steepness to that 
leading up to Rora, and consists of a zig-zag almost the whole length. 
In many parts it is paved with large stones ; in others, it is cut out 
of the rock. It got dark before I was more than half way up ; but 
the cheerful and interesting conversation of the pastor, Mons. Jacques 
Vineon, made me forget, in some measure, the fatigue of the ascent, 
and the gloom in which we were involved ; though it was not till 
after numerous stoppages for the purpose of taking breath, that we 
reached the summit. The distance does not exceed four miles, but 
the journey is equal to eight or ten on level ground. 

" Mons. V. has been upwards of twenty years minister of this 
parish. He is a man of very considerable information, and zealous 
in the discharge of the duties of his office as pastor, besides which 
he holds that of Secretary to the Ecclesiastical Board. He is fifty 
years of age, and still equal to the numerous journeys which in both 
capacities he is called to undertake on foot. From all I could learn, 
he has quite a helpmeet for him in Madame Vineon, whose ac- 
quaintance I had not the pleasure of forming, owing to her indis- 
position at the time of my visit. She is a native of Switzerland, 
but previous to her marriage had spent some time as a governess 
both in London and in the family of an Archbishop in Ireland. The 
pastor took great delight in telling me of the good she does in the 
parish by dispensing medicines among the sick, and contributing in 
various ways to the happiness of the inhabitants. 

" It was touching to hear of the kindly attentions which the 
parishioners show to one another in all cases where assistance is 
required. If any of them is sick, his neighbours bring him bread 
and wine, and supply his lamp with oil at night. They also cheer- 
fully take their turns in sitting up with him. If any of them hap- 
pens to want help in getting in his harvest, or doing any pressing 
work, he has only to ask those who are near him to lend their aid, 
and he never meets with a refusal. Nor is he backward in his 
turn. What they do for him to-day, he does for them to-morrow." — 
Pages 224, 225. 

Dr. Henderson afterwards heard that the kindness of 
the people found occasion of exercise toward their faithful 



THE VAUDOIS. 413 

and beloved teacher. Persevering in his toilsome and 
peril-fraught journies, Mons. Vincon met with an accident, 
which especially at his age might have proved serious. 
Ice and snow were on the ground ; his foot slipped ; and 
the fall involved the breaking of a limb. The ready help 
of his parishioners was called forth in his behalf; and 
with loving hands and stalwart arms, they bore him along 
the rugged winding steeps which had to be traversed 
ere they could reach his mountain home. What is the 
arduousness of the pastor's life in England, Avhen con- 
trasted with the labours and risks incurred amid the steep 
declivitous paths that lie exposed to the foaming torrents 
and fearful tourmentes , so abundant even among those 
lower ranges of the Cottian Alps ? 

While in the valleys, Dr. Henderson promised to in- 
terest his Christian friends in raising a sum of money in 
behalf of the " Pastor's Circulating Library " at La Tour. 
On his return to England, he called on a number of those 
likely to contribute toward the fund. A few additional 
sums were sent in by way of response to the appeal in- 
serted in the published account of his journey. In larger 
and smaller amounts, an hundred pounds were gathered. 
This sum was duly forwarded to Piedmont ; but as the 
acknowledgment, inserted in the Evangelical Magazine 
(March, 1846), may not have met the eye of some con- 
tributor who will examine these pages, it seems desirable 
to insert it : — 

" Me. Editor, — You are perhaps aware that I collected £100 from 
Christian friends, which I remitted early in June last to the Mode- 
rator of the Vaudois churches in the valleys of Piedmont, to be ap- 
propriated for the formation of a library for the common use of the 
pastors. Never having been able to obtain any satisfactory informa- 
tion respecting the safe transmission of the money, I at last forwarded 
a letter through a private channel to my friend, the Rev. Jean Pierre 



414 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

Revel, of Bobi, rom whom I have just received the following reply. 
Your insertion of his letter in the Evangelical Magazine, will greatly 
oblige, my dear Sir, 

" Your's very truly, 
(Signed) " E. Henderson." 

" Dearly beloved and greatly honoured Brother in Christ, — Your 
welcome letter of the 25th ult. has just reached me. While, on the 
one hand I am extremely sorry to find that you have never heard 
from us relative to the reception of the very liberal benefaction to 
our pastoral library, I cannot but rejoice, on the other hand, that 
the miscarriage of our letter has proved the occasion of conveying to 
me a direct communication from you. 

" If, beloved man of God, you took back with you from our valleys 
a favourable impression respecting us, permit me to assure you that 
there will remain in our recollection and our hearts a lively sense of 
your Christian love towards us, which we shall not fail to express 
in our thanksgivings and prayer to the Lord of salvation, and the 
Author of all grace and love. This, at least, I do in my own name, 
and in the name of many of my brethren. 

" But to come to the point of information which you request re- 
specting the £100 which you had the kindness to collect for us. The 
Rev. Mr. Bonjour, of St. Jean, received your kind letter dated in 
June last, and forwarded it to our Board. His brother, the Mode- 
rator, then drew for the above sum, and we immediately despatched 
an official letter to you, intimating the same, and giving expression 
to our deep sense of gratitude towards you and the dear friends 
by whom it was contributed. The ministers next assembled to 
deliberate on the best mode of applying the money, so as most 
speedily to effect the formation of our pastoral library. A com- 
mittee of three of the pastors was appointed, consisting of the Rev. 
Mr. Bonjour, of St. Jean, the Rev. Mr. Bert, chaplain at Turin, and 
the Rev. Mr. Meille, tutor at the College. 

" Soon after this, on my proceeding on a journey of two months 
into Switzerland, I was commissioned to institute special enquiries 
respecting the works of the fathers and the writings of the reformers. 
This I did at Geneva, Lausanne, Neufchatel, and especially at Zurich, 
where I fell in with an old friend, who had been a fellow-student 
with me at Berlin. He is now a bookseller in the last-mentioned 
town, so that matters are in good train for the formation of the 
library. 

" I am utterly unable to account for the loss of our letter. We 
must truly have appeared very negligent and ungrateful, if it had 



THE VAUDOIS. 415 

not been for the Pauline a^a.7rrj deeply diffused through your heart, 
that love which thinketh no evil, beareth all things, hopeth all 
things, endureth all things. Under the sure and cheering shield of 
this bond of perfectness I place myself with you and your friends, 
while I once more express the grateful feelings which I cherish 
towards you in Christ Jesus. 

" The sixth of this month was a delightful solemnity in our 
church, being the day on which the new house of God at Rora was 
dedicated.* The weather was remarkably favourable, and the ser- 
vice, which was highly edifying, was conducted in the presence of 
all the Vaudois pastors ; and many of the inhabitants of the neigh- 
bouring parishes united with their brethren at Rora. After the 
dedication, the Lord's Supper was administered, and all returned 
joyful and refreshed. 

" At present, nothing remarkable has occurred among us, The 
gospel of the grace of God is gaining an entrance, slowly indeed, 
but everywhere palpably, into the hearts of our people. For this we 
cannot sufficiently thank God, as well as for the numerous benefits 
conferred upon us by friends in foreign lands. We beseech you, 
dear brother, to assist us in this respect by your prayers, and forget 
not specially to remember before our heavenly Father your very 
gratefully and cordially attached brother in Christ, 

(Signed) " J e P. Revel, Moderator Adjunct. 

" Bobi, Jan. 14, 1846. 

" Rev. E. Henderson, D.D." 

The attachment which Dr. Henderson felt for the 
Vaudois cause brought him into correspondence with 
several of the most noted and zealous of its advocates* 
But it was for a brief season only, that he was able to 



* There had long been an urgent need for the erection of this new 
church. Colonel Beckwith, the well-known " Bienfaiteur des Vaudois," 
whose picture is in every pastor's house, and his name graven on every 
peasant's heart, was representing to some friends the miserable condition 
of the old dilapidated building, when a little child who was present ran 
to fetch a small coin, and putting it into his hand, said, " Here is this, Sir, 
to build the church of Rora." That two-sous piece formed the beginning 
of the enterprise. (See the Christian Remembrancer for 1845.) When 
my father was in the Valleys, the ground was being cleared for the 
foundation. In eighteen months, according to the date of the above 
letter, the edifice was complete. 



416 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

manifest the interest which, even to the last, was never 
extinct. The remembrance of the Pra del Tor and the 
Balsille was as firmly cherished by him as the recollection 
of Icelandic Geysers or Caucasian heights. 

A few months' hard work, after his return to this coun- 
try, found his " Minor Prophets" ready for the press ; and 
the new Commentary* speedily followed the new book 
of travels. This field of Biblical labour had been well- 
cultivated in separate allotments ; but, as a whole, it was 
in a great measure unoccupied, save by those who had 
written on the whole Scripture or the whole prophetic 
canon. Among English annotators, Newcome stood almost 
alone as the expounder of the entire series. The Germans, 
for the most part, had individually limited their attention, 
as did Dr. Pococke, to some three or four of the lesser 
prophets. The eminent commentators of America had 
left the theme untouched. 

The same principles, on which Dr. Henderson had 
written his " Isaiah," guided him in the study of ** the 
Twelve." Each of the prophetic treatises is prefaced by a 
page or two on the biography and distinctive characteris- 
tics of its inspired writer. The concise and figurative 
diction of Hosea — the fluent and finished style of Joel — 
the minute and vivid groupings of Amos — the perspicuity 
of Obadiah — the straightforward simplicity of Jonah — the 
combined energy and pathos of Micah — the rich and varied 
elegance of Nahum — the boldness and originality of 
Habakkuk — the solemn and forcible expostulations where- 
with Zephaniah seconds the testimony of preceding and 
contemporary prophets — the pointed interrogations of 

* " The Book of the Twelve Minor Prophets, translated from the origi- 
nal Hebrew, with a Commentary, critical, philological, and exegetical, by 
E. Henderson, D.D." London, 8vo, 1845 (pp. 463). 



THE "minor prophets. " 417 

Haggai — the diversity between Zechariah's narrative style 
and the poetic prophecies which occupy the later half of 
his book — and, finally, the spirited expostulations of 
Malachi, — these, in succession, are brought to view, to- 
gether with those more latent peculiarities of dialect and 
construction which present themselves only to the eye and 
ear of the Hebraist. The amount of learning brought to 
bear upon this work surpasses even that which had been 
manifested in the earlier Commentary, while yet the trans- 
parency of the notes is such, that although an acquaint- 
ance with the original language is needed to follow out 
the reasoning, it is not essential in order to gather up the 
result. Its popularity among the students of the sacred 
text has been fully as great as was that of his " Isaiah ;" 
—among the Americans, even greater. 

It was in 1845 that Dr. Henderson sought and found a 
spiritual home at Union Chapel, Islington. Since the 
close of his Jewry Street labours, his pulpit-engagements 
had become comparatively few. On leisure Sabbaths he 
had gone as a hearer from one sanctuary to another. His 
students, as we have already been told, reaped a benefit 
from the plan ; but he did not find it beneficial to himself, 
nor did he think it a generally desirable system. When, 
therefore, his family were uniting themselves to a church 
nearer at hand than the one to which they had formerly 
belonged, he resolved to join the same fellowship, and to 
attend the ministrations of the Rev. Thomas Lewis and 
the Rev. Henry Allon. The former had long been, and 
the latter soon became, his friend. It was a somewhat 
remarkable fact that the church under this joint pastorate 
soon had at least six or seven ordained ministers enrolled 
at one and the same time among its members. Dr. Hen- 
derson's attendance at the Sabbath-services was regular, 

2 E 



418 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

when no preaching-duty took him elsewhere. In the 
week he was often found in his place, sometimes at the 
Lecture, sometimes at the Prayer -meeting, though it was 
seldom that he could spare both evenings in the week. 

The years 1846 to 1849 found him busy in preparing 
material for his next expository work. They were marked 
by no event of peculiar interest. A slight attack of para- 
lysis, the premonition that a fatal disease had commenced 
its work of ravage, obliged him to seek frequent change 
of air. His winter-vacations had mostly to be spent on 
the sea-coast ; his summer-recesses on the Continent. 
The frequent mention of "the holy coat" turned his 
thoughts to Treves; and while he deplored the superstition 
abounding in that stronghold of Romanism, he wandered 
with interest on the banks of the Moselle, and among the 
remains which testify to the handiwork of Roman colo- 
nists. The virtues of Aachen's far-famed waters led him 
thither in hope of proving their efficacy ; and a third year 
found him making a temporary sojourn in Belgium. 

But the time was at hand when his tutorial duties were 
to end, and when he was to seek for himself another abode. 
This change shall preface the ensuing chapter. It remains 
for us yet to take up a few threads which have been dropped 
in the narrative, but which ran through the texture of his 
busy life at Highbury, and contributed to its beauty and 
efficiency. It might easily be deemed that the labours 
which have been traced were amply sufficient to occupy 
any one man's time and thoughts : but such were by no 
means all the engagements that claimed his care. There 
were other works of love, and other deeds of usefulness, 
neither few nor small. The casual demands upon his 
service were not slight; calls to visit the sick; appoint- 
ments to stand beside the open grave; lectures to deliver 



RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES. 419 

on set subjects or special occasions, of a purely local and 
temporary nature ; interviews to hold with those who 
sought his opinion or advice ; churches to form ; charges 
to deliver ; examinations to conduct. The fact that he 
had no pastoral care brought no exemption from a press of 
ministerial and other duty. 

His connection with public societies, however, is the 
chief point which has to be noticed. To the Missionary 
cause he was a constant and active friend. Through a 
long course of years he remained on its Board of Direction, 
and on one or other of its Committees. Few, if any, 
were more constant in their attendance. None, more 
punctual. He was never behind time. The proverb, " in 
mora majestas," was one to which he utterly refused his 
credence. During a great part of the year 1839, when 
the Rev. W. Ellis was laid aside by illness from the fulfil- 
ment of his duties as Foreign Secretary, the work was 
divided between Mr. Freeman, Dr. Tidman, and Dr. Hen- 
derson, the latter undertaking the superintendence of the 
Eastern department. The labour, thus shared, was light ; 
but, such as it was, it was rendered with a willing heart. 
The Religious Tract Society also claimed his services. 
When their valued Secretary, the Rev. Joseph Hughes, 
was removed by death, Dr. Henderson was nominated (in 
1834) to be his successor, and he continued to hold that 
office for life. It is true that this was only an Honorary 
Secretaryship. Rarely could he attend the meetings of 
Committee, as their hours for business would have inter- 
fered with his College-duties; but he was glad to be 
present, so often as he was at liberty to attend. His 
counsels were frequently sought, and were always found 
judicious. The Society's devoted friend, W. Freeman 
Lloyd, Esq., was his near neighbour and frequent visitor. 



420 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

The Society's welfare was ever at his heart. The Society's 
movements were a subject of life -long interest. Their 
recent reprint of Rowland Hill's " Village Dialogues " 
was one of the last books he had in his hand, one of the 
last that he vainly attempted to read. The power to trace 
its printed characters was gone ; the very holding of the 
volume was an effort ; but the associations of early life were 
busily and pleasantly stirred in the half-dormant mind. 

On the Congregational Board he had been enrolled from 
an early period of his residence in London. He felt a 
lively zeal for all that affected the spiritual prosperity of 
the dissenting body. For their social interests as citizens 
he was likewise concerned ; and though he never in 
politics adopted any ultra views, — terming himself (in 
those hottest times of disputation when every one was 
expected to assume some party-name) a " Conservative 
Whig," — he was forward to promote all prudent and 
peaceable measures for the securing of civil and religious 
rights. When opportunity was given for any demonstra- 
tion of loyalty, he partook in it with no common share of 
satisfaction. The fact that others shared the privilege, in 
no wise diminished it in his esteem. The fact that he 
had been honoured with private audiences of royal ladies 
in another kingdom, could not abate the interest where- 
with he joined his brethren in doing public homage to the 
wider-sceptred Sovereign of his own land. " She looked 
Majesty in miniature," he writes, adverting to her youth-" 
ful appearance when first assuming the responsibilities of 
her station ; and then he adds, " The sweetness, yet firm- 
ness and fulness of her voice surpassed anything I had 
ever heard from a female." * 

* His feelings, when by appointment of his brethren he had to read 
their congratulatory address to Her Majesty in April, 1842, are unrecorded. 



CHAPEL-BUILDING. 421 

The "Metropolitan Chapel Building Fund"* was a 
scheme that owed its development in part to Dr. Hender- 
son's advice and aid. The desirableness of such a move- 
ment had been discussed at a periodical meeting of minis- 
terial brethren. There was a unanimous feeling in its 
favour. " It would be a pity/' he suggested, " if this 
were to end in talk : would it not be well to note down 
some resolution in definite form ?" The hint was taken. 
The resolution was shaped and minuted. The Congrega- 
tional Union Report for 1835 drew public attention to the 
advisableness of supplying destitute parts of London and 
its suburbs with the needful sanctuary-accommodation. 
The matter was placed in the hands of a Committee, 
Himself and Dr. Bennett were entrusted to draw up an 
appeal, and set the matter forward. Early in 1837; a 
meeting was convened. T. Wilson, Esq., who by his 
noble efforts and single-hearted liberality had erected so 
large a number of metropolitan and suburban as well as 
country chapels, took the chair. Several friends, who had 
been induced to support the infant Society, were present. 
Handsome contributions had already been poured in. 
Plans of operation were immediately determined. Dr. 
Henderson attended the successive meetings of committee ; 
visited the proposed site of each new chapel ; had the joy 
of seeing one after another opened for the hallowed exer- 
cises of social devotion and the further heralding of the 
Cross ; and heard with joy that congregations were gathered, 
pastors chosen, prosperity granted. 

There was another religious institution which he assisted 

* This Society is no longer in formal existence ; but two others have 
taken up its work, and extended the scale of operation ; viz. The London 
Congregational (and the English Congregational) Chapel Building So- 
cieties. 



422 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

alike in founding and in fostering. Although the London 
Jews' Society had done much for the sons of Abraham, 
it was manifest that more might be done. Dissenters, for 
the most part, stood aloof from the work. It was needful 
that a Society should be framed on a broader basis, wherein 
Christians of every name and party might co-operate. 
Such was the " British Society for the Propagation of the 
Gospel among the Jews/' of which Dr. Bennett and Dr. 
Henderson were the first promoters, and in which they 
sought to make evangelical catholicity a main feature. 
A Bickersteth and a Bunting could rejoice to have their 
names in juxtaposition on the list of its Committee. The 
Presbyterian and the Congregationalist could join in the 
pulpit or on the platform to advocate its cause. This 
Society was on no terms of rivalry with that which had 
previously existed. Dr. McCaul and Dr. Henderson could 
feel toward each other the same friendly regard as in 
earlier days. The supporters of each cause could meet 
together in amity and love. There w T as a distinctive 
element in each Society which forbade an amalgamation ; 
but the very line which separated them, when looked upon 
with the eye of Christian charity, was seen also to forbid 
collision. It marked out for each a separate field to occupy, 
while yet both were sowing the same precious seed in the 
same stubborn soil, both looking up for the same heavenly 
dew to " drop from above/' both were cheered with fore- 
tastes and promises of a rich harvest, and both were anti- 
cipating the same great ingathering-day. 

Dr. Henderson's interest in the cause had not been of 
recent or sudden growth. At Copenhagen, he and Dr. 
Paterson in 1805 had longed to be useful to the thousands 
of Jews who were resident in that town ; and were as 
much delighted as surprised, when some among them were 



THE JEWS. 4:23 

observed to come again and again to the Sabbath-service.* 
A letter, dated June 17, 1806, gives the following account 
of the Jews at Elsineur : — 

.... "Amongst other pleasant features of the times, I am deeply 
convinced that of the present state of the Jews forms none of the 
least. They seem to have renounced considerably their zeal for and 
blind attachment to the traditions of the fathers, and are not so averse 
to hearken to what Christians have to say respecting the Messiah. 

" I was struck on finding it announced in the Moniteur last week, 
that Napoleon had issued orders for a meeting of the most distin- 
guished characters among the Jews in France, for the purpose of 
taking into consideration the conduct of many of their brethren, 
whose sole employment is that of giving out money upon usury. 
He means to prohibit their carrying on this branch for which the 
Jews have been noted for so many centuries, and wishes this as- 
sembly to consider the most proper means for bringing such to en- 
gage in arts and sciences like other men. The meeting is to take 
place in Paris on the 26th of July. Who can say to what conse- 
quences it may lead ! Perhaps the Lord is just making use of 
Buonaparte in this instance, as He has done in making him instru- 
mental in pulling down the mother of abominations. Here he is 
cutting the Jews in the most tender part. As, in numberless in- 
stances, adverse circumstances in life have been the means of leading 
the attention of many to Divine truth, so here ; perhaps they may be 
led to propose the old question, ' Whether the Christ be really come ?' 

" Multitudes of the Jews here seem fully convinced of the impos- 
sibility of practising their religion in their present scattered state, 
and frankly acknowledge that it was designed only for the land of 
Canaan ; yet they are averse to enquire any further into the matter. 
Though they be scattered among all nations, and though it is long 
since they ceased to be a distinct body, yet when speaking of them- 
selves, they say ' our nation.'' Their marriages are still held with a 
considerable degree of solemnity, though not nearly so much as in 
former times. In this place they have a meeting, but no synagogue. 
In the forenoon they simply read the Scriptures, and pray ; in the 
afternoon they have an explanation of some passages read in the 
former part of the day. For the most part they discourse on com- 
mon subjects, except twice a year, when they take some difficult 
passage of Scripture. In this case they make known their text be- 
forehand, which every one that is religious, compares with other 

* Missionary Mag. 1805, p. 526 ; and Evangelical Mag. 1806, p. 86. 



424 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

parts of their writings, and thus forms his opinion of it. When the 
speaker comes forward and delivers his meaning, if any of them 
think he is wrong, they object. This they do publicly, referring to 
such passages as they think oppose what he has said. If he be a 
Rabbi, he disputes upon the spot ; if not, he generally tells the ob- 
jector, that if he will call at his house about an hour after, he will 
talk over the matter with him. 

" They have still their particular feasts, which they literally ob- 
serve till the first star be seen in the heavens. They in general be- 
lieve that there will be a resurrection, and then they shall all be 
brought again to the land of Judsea. One of their learned men in 
Berlin has lately written a book, wherein he warmly defends the 
doctrine of the immortality of the soul. I hope that the interest 
which the Lord's people are beginning to take in behalf of this long- 
deluded people, will be more and more increased, and that the happy 
time will soon arrive when the Jews will be brought in with the ful- 
ness of the Gentiles. Let us ' give the Lord no rest, till He make 
Jerusalem a praise in the whole earth.'"* 

At Gottenburgh he was brought into acquaintance with 
several Jewish converts. Some of these he rejoiced to 
consider as " brethren beloved of the Lord." But he was 
not indiscriminate in his confidence. Thus we find there 
was a case in which he had to express his doubts : — 

" I find that he does not introduce religious topics among the 
Jews. Indeed he openly avows to me with a flourish that he does 
not let them see that he is ' religious.' I spoke very seriously with 
him one day on the subject of baptism. His reason for deferring 
this is, that he may have more access among the Jews. But as I 
plainly asked him, — ' What does this denial amount to ? Is it not 
a denial of the Saviour ? When your brethren ask you, " Are you 
baptized ?" their meaning is, " Are you a Christian ?" and when you 
reply " No," they immediately regard you as a Jew ; now these things 
are altogether incompatible with each other. If I am a Christian, 
I must never shrink from the confession of the noble name by which 
I am called : and indeed this is no very slender evidence that I am 
really interested in the Saviour, when I feel no repugnancy in ac- 
knowledging my relation to Him when that profession would expose 
me to obloquy or suffering.' 

* Missionary Magazine, 1806 ; p. 343. 



THE JEWS. 425 

" I do not affirm that he ought to go into every house calling out 
that he is a Christian, and that he is come for the purpose of con- 
verting them, but I maintain that if he is possessed of real love to 
his brethren, and actually wishes the salvation of their souls, he 
must avail himself of the opportunities which present themselves of 
being useful in this way." 

In Russia, Dr. Henderson had his eye on the descend- 
ants of Israel. When travelling through the provinces, he 
often entered the Jewish synagogues, and took with him 
New Testaments in the Hebrew language for such as were 
willing to receive them. At Jytomir, this effort was not 
without fruit. Invited into the bema, he did not abuse 
the privilege : — 

" I did not find it advisable to address them, but proposed a few 
questions respecting the Bible to such of the Rabbies and Rulers as 
sat next me. My heart was like to rend as I witnessed the poor 
creatures pressing themselves against the wall in the earnestness of 
their prayers, and remembered the awful wall of unbelief which 
separates between them and their God. They inserted the names 
of Ebenezer Henderson and Nicholai Seroff in their public prayers 
immediately after the prayer for Alexander Paulovitch." 

In his printed account of it, he adds : — 

" It was meant no doubt as a compliment, but it naturally ex- 
cited in our bosom a tender and compassionate feeling in behalf of 
the poor Jews, and forcibly reminded us of our duty to remember 
them in our daily prayers."* 

After the service, the Testaments which the strangers 
offered, were eagerly received ; and there was one young 
man, who, through the study of the gospel-record thus 
placed in his hands, was led to reject the traditions of the 
Talmud, to embrace the religion of Jesus of Nazareth, 
and to apply to the Metropolitan of Kieff for Christian 
baptism.f 

* Biblical Researches, etc., p. 201. f Ibid. p. 198. 



4:26 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

The descriptions which Dr. Henderson gives of the 
Karaite Jews at Lutsk and at Djufut-kale* have been so 
often cited, that it is needless to do more than refer to 
them. For the scarcely less interesting account of the 
Dubno scribe and of the Polish Jews, it must also suffice 
to refer the reader to his own narrative. f His work, more- 
over, contains an important chapter, which unfolds his 
views as to the manner of dealing with Jewish enquirers 
and converts, as well as the qualifications essential in those 
who are to act as Jewish Missionaries. J 

It can be no matter of surprise, that while so attentively 
examining into their actual position, he should have felt 
wishful to dedicate his personal service to their welfare. 
In a letter from Kaminietz Podolsk, he writes : " We re- 
joice to hear that Mr. Moritz is to come to Poland. A 
more auspicious field I have not found ; and were I not 
engaged as agent of the Bible Society, I do not know any 
employment I would prefer to that of a Missionary to the 
Jews in these quarters. 55 What he could not undertake 
as a principal and fixed occupation, he could yet find time 
to take up, when in the Russian metropolis, as a subordi- 
nate and extra-official engagement. It was while living 
in the Pochdovaya Oulitsa, that he invited two or three 
Jews to call on him for the purpose of conversing about 
the Messianic prophecies, and the future glories of the 
King of Zion. To find a Christian teacher so conversant, 
not only with their sacred books, but also with their Tal- 
mud, whose fourteen folio volumes he denominates " the 
Jewish Encyclopaedia," filled them with amazement and 
delight. They were invited to come again at an appointed 
hour, and to bring any of their brethren who might feel 

* Biblical Researches, etc., pp. 306—331. f Ibid. pp. 206—232. 
X Ibid. pp. 238—245. 



THE JEWS. 427 

interested in such themes. Time after time the visits 
were repeated, and on each occasion the number of attend- 
ants was increased, until the small ante-chamber was 
crowded with eager listeners, who stood there for above 
an hour without a symptom of weariness. Dr. Henderson 
translated into their language* the account of that young 
American Jewess, on whose history has been based the 
tale entitled " Miriam." One day he read it aloud in their 
hearing. The touching story went to their hearts. One 
and another were melted to tears. The prospect of useful- 
ness was great. Hope rose higher and higher, that some 
of the lost sheep of the house of Jacob might then and 
there be gathered into the true fold. The hope was short- 
lived. Sudden was the change, when ere long the nume- 
rous visitors simultaneously suspended their attendance. 
Without an intimation of their purpose, without a reason 
assigned, one and all withdrew. The room, which had 
been filled with enquirers, had no longer even a Nicodemus 
treading its threshold. The only inference to be drawn 
was, that the impressions made had been deep enough to 
alarm " the chief ruler of the synagogue," and to call forth 
his decided interdict, while yet not deep enough to enable 
the braving of the dreaded anathema. That the seed was 
wholly lost, it is in no man's power to say. 

The compassion so long felt for the outcast owners of 
the promised land, could not fail to be heightened by an 
increased acquaintance with the writings of the Hebrew 
seers. Dr. Henderson did not believe that the duty of 
labouring for Israel was in any way connected with a 
particular school of prophetic interpretation. He main- 
tained that whether men believe in a literal or a figurative 

* This tract Avas afterwards printed for the " British Society" (etc.) both 
in Hebrew, and in parallel pages of Hebrew and English. 



428 TUTORSHIP AT HIGHBURY. 

Millenial reign, whether they believe or disbelieve the 
national restoration of the Jews, whether they conclude 
that such restoration will precede or follow their conver- 
sion to Christianity, whether they imagine that the time 
to favour Zion is far off or near at hand, still they are 
called to labour for the individual souls that are clinging 
to empty forms, and vainly crying for a boon which already 
waits their acceptance. His own deductions from the study 
of unfulfilled prophecy were such as to place him midway 
between the two extremes of prophetic theorizers. He 
believed in the literal restoration of the Jews to Palestine, 
but not in a personal reign of the Messiah in the literal 
Jerusalem. He regarded the dispersion of the Jews as a 
curse resting on them for their rejection of the Saviour ; and 
hence he judged, that as in olden time their repentance 
preceded the reversal of their captivity in Babylon, so again 
their temporal restoration will succeed their spiritual return 
to Him from whom, as a nation, they have so long departed. 
That their conversion might possibly be wrought as by a 
miracle, he did not deny ; that it would be through human 
agency blessed by saving influences from above, he re- 
garded as far more probable. But in either case, and 
under any circumstances, he thought that Gentile Chris- 
tians are called to arise, and make known to them the 
message of reconciliation through a Saviour's finished 
work.* 

An extract from the cc Jewish Herald," for June 1, 1858, 
will serve as a brief epitome of his labours for the Society : 
" To the cause of this Society he was zealously attached 
from its commencement. To his pen we are indebted for 

* See his " Lecture on the Conversion of the Jews," delivered at the 
Scotch Church, Regent Square, March 10, 1843, and published by the 
Society in the course of the same year. 



THE JEWS. 429 

our earliest publications — for an invaluable Lecture on the 
( Conversion of the Jews ' — and especially for f Scriptural 
Selections' which have been published in Hebrew, Ger- 
man, Dutch, and English, and which have been, we be- 
lieve, in many instances attended with the Divine blessing. 
As an Honorary Secretary of the Society, Dr. Henderson 
ever manifested a hearty interest in its constitution and 
progress, and attended its meetings till growing infirmities 
detained him from London." 



CHAPTER VII. 

Closing Years. (1850—1858.) 

Und was kein Verstand der Verstandigen sieht, 
Erkennt oft in Einfalt ein kindlich Gemiiht.* 

Schiller. 

The rise of new collegiate institutions in different parts 
of the country had tended to dimmish the number of 
students at Homerton, Coward, and Highbury, three of 
the metropolitan colleges. For some time it had been 
felt, that the labour bestowed was disproportionate to the 
benefits secured. It was at length judged expedient to 
amalgamate the above-named, so that by providing out of 
their united funds a larger tutorial staff for the combined 
body of students, the latter might enjoy a course of studies 
which should not only be wider in scope, but higher in 
style. The year 1849 saw the maturing of the plan. The 
prescribed term of tuition was to cover five years ; two for 
literary, and three for theological pursuits. Six professors 
were to be appointed for the two faculties ; and into the 
faculty-of-arts-classes, lay-students were to be received. 
Non-residence was to be another distinctive feature of 
the institution, with the due provision that the Council 
should have the sanctioning, by register, of those houses 



* A childlike disposition often apprehends in its simplicity that which 
the wisdom of the wise fails to perceive. 



NEW COLLEGE. 431 

in which the ministerial candidates might take up their 
abode. 

The measure was energetically carried out. A site for 
the new edifice was chosen in the Finchley Road, St. John's 
Wood. Architectural designs were sent in, and a selection 
made. On May 11th, 1850, the foundation of "New 
College" was laid. In the meanwhile, the professorial 
arrangements had been taken into consideration. The 
United Committee wished to retain, so far as possible, the 
services of those who had already proved their efficiency 
in connection with these Colleges severally. At the same 
time, they rightly judged that they must not allow personal 
feeling or friendly regard to weigh a feather in the scale 
against the probable interests of the institution. They 
were fully aware of what Dr. Henderson's services had 
been ; but not so sure as to what, at his advancing years, 
they might continue to be. His exclusion from office took 
himself and his family by surprise ; but subsequent events 
proved the wisdom of the decision. It is not impossible 
that there may have been indications of incipient intellec- 
tual feebleness already manifest, and more perceptible to 
comparative strangers than to those who had him always 
at their side. 

What thus occasioned surprise, was unaccompanied, 
however, with ground for complaint. That which was 
done, was kindly done. The Highbury Committee voted 
him, out of their funds, an annual retiring pension. He 
was not forgetful that the amount came from the proceeds 
of subscriptions to a sacred cause; but he had always 
held, that religious societies, as well as other corporate 
bodies, owe a duty in this respect to their superannuated 
agents, and he therefore felt, that in consenting to re- 
ceive what was not an unnecessary provision for his old 



CLOSING YEARS. 

age, he was but countenancing a principle of justice and 
equity. 

The Council, on their part, were willing to enrol his 
name as a member, and to nominate him to an honorary 
professorship. This, after mature deliberation, he saw 
reason to decline. He never gave his name, where he was 
at all uncertain as to whether he could give his entire 
approval. It is but fair to state, that at that time he had 
his doubts concerning the tendencies of the new system. 
There were in it elements upon which he looked with 
suspicion. He feared that the scattering of the students 
might cause a loss of fraternal sympathy and inter- watch- 
fulness ; he feared that the admission of lay-students might 
derogate from the religious character of the institution; 
he feared that the extension of scientific and literary 
studies might occasion a less intent pursuit of those special 
branches of knowledge which peculiarly befit the can- 
didate for ministerial office. Happily he lived to see his 
apprehensions disproved, and to rejoice in his own ex- 
perience of pulpit-ministrations, supplied from the walls of 
that College, fully as sound as they were scholar-like, — 
abundantly testifying that sacred learning as well as classic 
lore was earnestly and successfully imparted, and that the 
phrase " cum in cseterarum artium studiis liberalissimis 
doctrinisque," on its foundation-stone, was not followed in 
vain by the ' • turn in primis in sanctse theologise disciplina 
ad opus ministerii, ad sedificationem corporis Christi." 

The last session at Highbury closed, in the summer of 
1850, but not without a pleasing testimony to the esteem 
and love in which he was held by those who had been 
under his care. Not a few of them were present at that 
final meeting of constituents; and, aware that a third 
Commentary was ready for the press, they proposed to 



COMMENTARY ON JEREMIAH. 433 

secure a list of subscribers, in order that the volume might 
be published without pecuniary risk to the author. The 
Rev. T. Aveling of Kingsland, who had shared in his 
instructions, and the Rev. John Kennedy of Stepney, the 
son of his fellow-student in Mr. Haldane's Edinburgh 
class, in a most friendly manner undertook the entire 
labour that was requisite. They drew up a circular letter, 
forwarded the subscription-copies, and gathered in the 
promised sums. Most zealously, kindly, and successfully, 
did they conduct their enterprise \ numerous and hearty 
were the responses they received. Six hundred copies 
were disposed of through this medium. The edition was 
not only paid, but a balance remained in hand to defray the 
expenses of a fourth and last Commentary, of which the 
proceeds in their turn could go some way toward the re- 
printing of the earlier volumes. The so-called " testimony 
of gratitude " to him, became a debt of gratitude incurred 
by him. 

The Commentary on Jeremiah* contained, as it required, 
a proportionately smaller number of notes than had been 
needful in the preceding volumes ; but the notes which it 
did thus contain, have been deemed by no means inferior 
to those of an earlier date, either in thought or expression. 
" The subject," says a reviewer of Blayney on Jeremiah, 
" contains less fund for curious inquiry and critical illustra- 
tion." There was consequently less call for the manifesta- 
tion of profound research, and less necessity for dwelling 
on almost each verse separately. The many simply his- 
toric and didactic passages, that are of easy interpretation, 



* "The Book of the prophet Jeremiah and that of the Lamentations, 
translated from the original Hebrew, with a Commentary, critical, philo- 
logical, and exegetical. By E. Henderson, D.D." London, 1851. 8vo, 
pp. 303. 

2 F 



434 CLOSING YEARS. 

allow the translation to cover a large surface of the page ; 
and the comparatively few cases of grammatical difficulty 
cause hut a limited recurrence of words in foreign type. 
Where knotty points have "been met with, they have been 
resolutely taken in hand, till the unravelling was thought 
to be accomplished. The five Lamentations or Elegies of 
the prophet are appropriately included in the work. 

The winter of 1850-51 was spent in Italy, whither Dr. 
Henderson had been requested to escort two ladies, with 
whom for some years his family had been acquainted. The 
challenge was one he would have found it hard to resist. 
There was no need to resist it. No obstacle precluded his 
accepting the invitation. His imagination was fired with 
the idea of treading the footsteps of the Apostle of the 
Gentiles, and perhaps preaching in Rome itself. It was 
an expectation that was only to be realized in part. 
Puteoli was visited, and the Via Appia; but the seven- 
hilled city was never reached. After hastening rapidly 
southward to avoid the November fogs of England, and to 
escape the mistral of Provence, a week was spent in the 
city of galleries beside the Arno's bank. Naples was the 
next resting-place ; and as it was early in the season, it 
was judged expedient to tarry for a few weeks within sight 
of Vesuvius. 

An interval of silence between the letters home awakened 
some little anxiety in those who knew from experience 
his usual considerateness in sending them full and frequent 
tidings of his welfare. After a while a letter came, and in 
his own handwriting ; but it had been penned with con- 
siderable effort. A severe gastric fever had brought him 
to the brink of the grave. The friends who were with 
him, had watched over him with the tenderest care. An 
English night-nurse was secured. She recognised him 



VISIT TO ITALY. 435 

immediately as having often occupied Mr. Collison's pulpit 
at Walthamstow, where she had been brought up as a 
scholar in the Sunday-school. And now, at Naples, she 
heard him preach again ; for, in his delirium, he gave 
utterance to the thoughts which had filled his heart for 
weeks past, and he delivered, in her hearing, the sermon 
which he had intended for the Italian metropolis. It was 
founded on the words, Ci I am ready to preach the gospel 
to you that are at Rome also." 

In time, the violence of the fever was mercifully abated. 
The services of an eminent native physician were blessed 
to his recovery. But he was ordered to give up all idea of 
prosecuting his journey. He felt this to be a privation ; 
yet he regarded the decided verdict of his medical adviser 
as an intimation of his Father's will, and he durst not run 
counter to it. The prospect of an escort for his friends 
relieved him from responsibility on their account; and 
when strength was sufficiently restored, he commenced his 
homeward route. Nismes, with its Roman antiquities, — 
Avignon, so famed for its reminiscences of pontifical exile, 
— Lyons, the mission-sphere of Irenseus, and still the dwell- 
ing-place of a faithful disciple-band, were the chief objects 
of interest on his solitary road. Each day he gained new 
vigour, and at length reached home not only in safety, but 
in health. His foreign wanderings were thenceforth at 
an end. 

His first thoughts naturally reverted to his future pros- 
pects and plans. He was waiting for the guidance of a 
Divine hand. In the interval, he made a partition of his 
books, and sold off all that could be spared, in order that 
he might be in readiness to enter on some cottage-home, 
though as yet he knew not where. The token to arise and 
move his tent had not been given, but he knew that it 



436 CLOSING YEARS. 

must be at hand, and he watched till the signal came. In 
calmness and quietude of soul he watched. He had long 
known the secret of Christian equanimity. More than a 
quarter of a century had passed, since he had written a 
letter in which are found the following words :— 

" No part of Scripture has occurred more frequently to my mind 
during the past four months than those precious words of our Re- 
deemer : ' In patience possess ye your souls.' Except we exercise 
this grace, we must infallibly lose that possession and enjoyment, 
and expose our minds to be ruffled and vexed and thrown into per- 
plexity by the unresisted impressions of external things. To have 
them stayed upon our God, to wait patiently for the time and cor- 
dially to approve of the manner of His working, this is the great 
art of living in peace, contentment, and happiness." 

That peace, that contentment, that happiness had been his 
life-long heritage. 

The watching-time was still a working-time. As he was 
ready to be employed, there were those who were ready to 
put employment in his way. Messrs. Knight and Son re- 
quested that he would consent to carry on the editorial 
labours in which the late Rev. Ingram Cobbin, M.A., had 
been engaged; namely, in the re-printing of the Rev. 
Albert Barnes's valuable works under sanction of the 
author. To this he acceded; and with all the greater 
readiness of mind, when he had the satisfaction of knowing 
that the possibility of obtaining legal copyright in this 
country had secured the author's interests, and enabled 
the carrying out, as the editor expressed it, "of our Saviour's 

maxim, agio? <yap 6 ep^aTrjS too fxiaOov aVTOv ecru Luke X. 7. 

In such works, he was employed as long as his mental 
powers were equal to the task. Some of them were com- 
pleted, while he was still at Highbury; others were under- 
taken, after he had removed. It may be well to notice 
them all in one connection, rather than to pay unnecessary 



437 

heed to the exact chronology of their publication. Beside 
giving a finishing touch to " Cobbin's Edition " of the New 
Testament Notes/ he revised and gave his warm recom- 
mendation to two of Barnes's Old Testament Commenta- 
ries^ and to two other volumes by the same author.^ 

The Book of Job in the original had long been a theme 
of closer study with him than any other save the prophetic 
records. Again and again had he taken delight in expati- 
ating on what he termed " the miner's chapter ;" or else in 
repeatingwith emphasis the strong contrast which concludes 
the twenty-sixth : i( Lo, these are parts of His ways : — but ! 
how small a whisper is heard of Him ! — the thunder of His 
power, then, who can understand ?" But he had investi- 
gated no less carefully the celebrated confession, " I know 
that my Redeemer liveth ;" and on this point, as on a few of 
the like kind, he materially differed from the American 
Commentator. Hence he felt himself constrained to state 
and vindicate, in a few prefatory pages, his belief that the 
patriarch of Uz was not without a hope alike of future 

* " Notes, explanatory and practical, on theBook of Revelation. By the 
Rev. Albert Barnes. With a preface by the Rev. E. Henderson, D.D." 
London, 1852. 

f " Notes, critical, illustrative, and practical, on the Book of Job. 
With a New Translation and Introductory Dissertation. By the Rev. Albert 
Barnes. Printed from the Author's revised edition. With a preface by the 
Rev. E. Henderson, D.D." 2 vols. London, 1851. 

"Notes, critical, explanatory, and practical, on the Book of Daniel. 
With an Introductory Dissertation. By the Rev. Albert Barnes. Edited 
by the Rev. E. Henderson, D.D." 2 vols. London, 1853. 

X " The Way of Salvation, illustrated in a series of Discourses. By the 
Rev. Albert Barnes. Revised by the Rev. E. Henderson, D.D." London, 
1855. 

"Essays on Science and Theology. By the Rev. Albert Barnes. 
Arranged and revised by the Rev. E. Henderson, D.D." London, 1855. 

[The last work which my father ever edited was also for the above- 
named firm. "William Cowper : his Life, Genius, and Insanity. By 
George B. Cheever, D.D." London, 1856.] 



438 CLOSING YEARS. 

immortality for his soul, and of a future resurrection for 
his body. 

As it regarded the expositions of Daniel and of the Reve- 
lation, he was not prepared to pledge himself to an entire 
concurrence with every sentiment advanced ; yet he saw 
in these no point of such importance as to call for a formal 
disclaimer. His estimate of the author's research, judg- 
ment, and spirituality of mind need not here be repeated. 
That writer is too well known to require the word of com- 
mendation. It may, however, be stated that Mr. Barnes, 
in one or two friendly notes, expressed his pleasure that 
the English editions of his works were passing through the 
hands of such an approved Biblical scholar ; and he evinced 
a like kindly feeling, when in England, by leaving town 
for a few hours to pay an afternoon-visit, on which Dr. 
Henderson often looked back with delight. 

The volume of sermons on " The Way of Salvation " 
demanded a keen and searching scrutiny. The discarding 
of certain long-received technicalities, and (if so they may 
be termed) religious idioms, was not unsuspicious. A 
candid and unprejudiced examination proved, however, 
that not an atom of gospel-truth had been sacrificed, while 
many an unnecessary stumbling-block had been removed 
out of the enquirer's way. Dr. Henderson was sensitively 
jealous of any removal of " the old landmarks;" but with 
him they must be, in deed and in truth, old landmarks, — 
those of inspiration, and not those of tradition — those of 
sacred Scripture, and not those of human system — those of 
Christianity, and not those of scholasticism. His views 
with regard to theological terminology were neither lax 
nor overstrained. The boundary-lines drawn by the hand 
of man he did not always ignore. He knew that they have 
often been invaluable demarcations to fence off the approach 



Barnes's works. 439 

to a precipice. But he remembered that they were laid down 
by a fallible hand ; and hence he deemed it lawful, after 
patient thought and prayerful study, to demolish them, if 
by so doing there might result an evidently nearer approxi- 
mation to that path of "right judgment/' which, even 
when to shortsighted fear it seems to skirt an abyss, is the 
only path of safety. He was not one who made human 
reason a gauge in judging of Revelation. Among the last 
special services in which he took a prominent part was a 
United Prayer-meeting at Wandsworth, when he delivered 
a lecture on the Claims of Religion upon the Intellect. 
(i Reason," he said, " having conducted us to the vestibule 
of the temple, must take off her shoes, and feeling that all 
within is holy ground, must tread submissively side by 
side with Faith, to whom she must yield the palm in re- 
ceiving the discoveries that may be made under the 
hallowed dome." He was far from excluding the intel- 
lect. He did not bid it stand and wait at the threshold. 
Reason is to enter, though to enter humbly ; to tread 
the consecrated precincts, though to tread them reve- 
rentially; to share in the privilege, though not to take 
the precedence. He believed that every doctrine of re- 
vealed truth will ultimately be found reconcilable with 
sanctified reason ; and though he did not consider it likely 
that such perfect reconcilement will be found compatible 
with our present imperfect state, he rejoiced in every ap- 
proach towards it. Accordingly he found pleasure in being 
able to arrive at the conclusion that Mr. Barnes had done 
true service in obviating needless difficulties, and putting 
acknowledged truths in an undistorted light. 

The " Essays on Science and Theology," by the same 
writer, were not only revised but entirely re-arranged by the 
editor. Dr. Henderson deemed that more consecutiveness 



440 CLOSING YEARS. 

might be given to the varied Lectures by selection and 
transposition. The Essay on " the Choice of a Profession/' 
he thought specially important for the young ; that on the 
" Christian Ministry/' peculiarly useful for students. The 
Wr, which precede these, give the theologian's view of 
literature and science ; the six which follow them, give the 
Christian philosopher's thoughts on theology. 

While these labours were in progress, Dr. Henderson, as 
already intimated, had found a home. Before the lease of 
his house at Highbury expired, his future habitation was 
indicated ; but no sooner was it marked out, than a tenant 
was found to occupy his former residence. It was with thank- 
fulness that he had to sing, " My times are in Thy hand. 5 ' 

The Independent interest at Mortlake, in Surrey, had 
been of long continuance. It originated in the passing of 
the Uniformity Act in 1662, when the Rev. David Clark- 
son, B.D. (who had been a fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge, 
and had been the tutor, as he was esteemed the life-long 
friend, of Archbishop Tillotson), shared the lot of some two 
thousand of his ministerial brethren, and was ejected from 
the pulpit of the parish-church. Such of the hearers as 
sympathized with their minister withdrew, and a non-con- 
formist congregation was formed. In 1716, Sheen Vale 
Chapel was built for their use; and though at one time it 
was alienated through mismanagement, it was restored, 
put in trust, and re-dedicated in 1836. The efforts of the 
Rev. C. G. Townley, LL.D., in clearing off the chapel-debt, 
and building British -school -rooms, conferred a lasting 
boon ; and the labours put forth by a succession of earn- 
estly faithful men kept the feeble flock from dying out. 

One Sabbath as far back as August 1830, Dr. Henderson 
preached for the Mortlake congregation. He never forgot 
a people to whom he had once ministered the word of life. 



SHEEN VALE CHAPEL. 441 

In this case, the remembrance was kept up by a frequent 
glimpse of the chapel, as he passed it on a Richmond 
omnibus, or in the carriage of a Richmond railway-train, 
when seeking the refreshment of a day's excursion. At the 
time of his wishing to obtain some small charge in which 
he might still be usefully employed in furthering his 
Master's work, he was aware that the pulpit of Sheen Vale 
Chapel was vacant. Through a friend, he obtained an in- 
troduction to its deacons, by whom he was invited as an 
occasional supply. The people felt a wish to have him as 
their pastor. They gave him a cordial invitation to the 
office; and on the first Sunday of July, 1852, he commenced 
his work. The Tuesday following was set apart for recog- 
nition services. The Rev. J. H. Godwin delivered the 
introductory discourse. The Rev. H. Allon offered the 
recognition prayer. The Rev. Dr. Bennett addressed the 
pastor and people. The friends met in the school-room 
for refreshment, after which speeches were delivered by the 
Rev. John Kennedy, M.A., and several others who were 
present. The evening service was conducted by the Rev. 
William Brock. It was a day of rejoicing hope. 

The pastor entered zealously into the discharge of his 
duties, and those duties were his delight. Two Sabbath- 
services, a Monday prayer-meeting, and a Thursday lecture, 
were conducted with regularity and acceptance. The con- 
gregation began to improve. The church was stirred up to 
renewed energy. The Missionary Auxiliary, which had 
become entirely defunct, was re-instituted ; and its funds, 
though not large, have continued steady, and bear a satis- 
factory testimony that those who collect, and those who 
subscribe, were induced thus to gather, and thus to give, 
under the influence of a lasting principle, and not under 
the impulse of a temporary excitement. At the school it 



4:42 CLOSING YEARS. 

was but once or twice that Dr. Henderson gave an address ; 
yet he strengthened the hands of the teachers by frequent 
enquiries as to the progress of their work, and in his 
preaching he did not forget, when opportunity served, to 
make a few simple remarks that might catch the ear of the 
little ones. He did not deem it needful to devote himself 
further to this department, as he found that it was in the 
hands of a devoted band of Christian labourers, who worked 
harmoniously under the able and zealous supervision of 
J. Doulton, Jun., Esq., one of the deacons of the church. 
From this gentleman, as from Mr. Pococke his colleague in 
office, Dr. Henderson met with the most unvarying kind- 
ness, and he entertained for them both the sincerest esteem 
and affection. 

Increasingly did the pastor gain the love of the people, 
and increasingly did the people find a place in the pastor's 
heart. His visits were found refreshing; his teachings 
were felt to be instructive. One sermon shall be trans- 
cribed from among the multitude of his notes. It is among 
the most complete that can be found ; and is one which, 
while it may in a measure serve to illustrate his usual style, 
has the advantage of exhibiting what most will deem a 
rather uncommon (though not original) mode of dealing 
with the text on which it was based. His view of the 
passage had been adopted by him in early life, and he had 
never seen reason to abandon it : — 

" 2 Kings ii. 14. 

" • And lie took the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters ; and 
said, Where is the Lord God of Elijah ? and when he also had smitten the waters, they 
parted hither and thither : and Elisha went over.' 

" Every earthly relationship must sooner or later be dissolved. 
Parents and children, husbands and wives, friends and acquaintances, 
must all surrender each other at the call of death. To the same call, 
ministers and people must likewise submit. Of this, Elisha had just 



SERMON. 443 

had the painful experience. He had lost his predecessor and pre- 
ceptor. Not, indeed, in the ordinary way ; for Elijah, like Enoch, 
was translated at once to glory without seeing death. But as com- 
pletely ; — as it regarded all further intercourse. That hold and 
zealous servant of Jehovah had finished his course — a course marked 
hy the most unflinching fidelity in reproving the vices of a corrupt 
court, and the wickedness of an apostate and idolatrous people. Before 
his departure, he took Elisha to Bethel, and afterwards to the river 
Jordan, the waters of which he miraculously divided, so that they two 
went over on dry ground. Deeply convinced of his own insufficiency for 
the prophetical office, and of the impossibility of rightly discharging 
its duties without a copious effusion of the extraordinary spiritual 
influences which his master had enjoyed, Elisha earnestly prayed that 
a double portion of Elijah's spirit might rest upon him. 

" As they proceeded on their way together, conversing on this and 
kindred subjects, the appearance of a chariot and horses of fire parted 
them from each other, — Elijah having gone up in a whirlwind into 
heaven, while Elisha was left to deplore the loss of his spiritual 
father. The departed prophet had dropped his mantle as he ascended. 
This Elisha eagerly seized ; and returning to the brink of the Jordan, 
assayed to perform what he had seen his master do in order to effect a 
passage through its waters. ' And he took the mautle,' etc. etc. 

" On attentively perusing these words, you cannot but arrive at the 
conclusion, that two distinct actions of the prophet are described ; in 
other words, that he smote the waters twice. When he smote them 
the first time, it was not in the exercise of faith, but in reliance upon 
some virtue which he supposed to reside in the mantle of. Elijah, 
which, in imitation of that prophet, he had employed. As he had 
seen the waters divide when his predecessor had smitten them, so he 
expected it would be now. But he was disappointed. He smote, 
but no effect followed. The Jordan continued to flow on as usual, 
and paid no deference whatever to his stroke. Upon this, Elisha 
perceived his error. He saw that he had forgotten the God of his 
master, whose power alone had wrought the miracle ;— and, full of 
agitation, he exclaimed, ' Where is the Lord God of Elijah V In the 
Hebrew, the language is still more emphatic : l Where is Jehovah, 
the God of Elijah, even He himself?'* Thus recognising the Almighty 

* The above sermon is taken from the copy of latest date ; the Gotten- 
burgh sketch of it (May 26, 1811) has here the following foot-note: — 
" NV7 FjK — See a similar expression, Prov. xxii. 19, I1 ? k T F ]^ . Consult also 
Psa. 1. 6 ; lxxxvii. 6. The LXX. have retained the Hebrew acpcpdo. 
Danish, Ja (hvor er) hanf yea y where is he? French, 'L'Eternel hii- 
mime' Dutch, Ja de selve." - 



444 CLOSING YEARS. 

power of God as that by the exertion of which he could alone expect 
success, he smote a second time, and ' then the waters parted hither 
and thither, and Elisha went over/ 

" From the passage thus explained, the following observations may 
be deduced : — 

" I. That mankind are prone in matters of religion to rely upon 
externals. — Of the truth of this observation, every one must be 
aware who has at all studied the history of his race. What (e. g.) is 
Paganism but a mass of outward ceremonies, such as ablutions, sacri- 
fices, prostrations, and a multiplicity of performances, many of them 
of the most absurd and unmeaning description? The attention of 
the devotee is riveted on some visible object to which he addresses 
his adorations, and by whose supposed agency he expects evil to be 
averted, or good to be conferred. 

" Nor can the Mohammedans, notwithstanding their boasted belief 
in the spirituality of one only God, claim exemption from the same 
charge. If they are only punctual, as it respects the hour and manner 
of prayer ; if they can only satisfy themselves that they turn towards 
the Keblah, or the temple at Mecca ; if they only are exact in the 
performance of their purifications and fasts, and liberal in their alms 
to the poor, they imagine that they have rendered themselves accept- 
able to the Deity. 

" With respect to the Jews, it is impossible to read the Scriptures 
without perceiving that the same propensity existed among them. 
1 Sam. iv. 3, 4, is a striking manifestation of it — (dwell on the narra- 
tive, 1 Sam. xv. ; Saul, to pacify his conscience, imagined the outward 
act of offering a portion of the spoil in sacrifice, would cover his dis- 
obedience). — In the time of Jeremiah, the same spirit showed itself, 
chap. vii. 1 — 4. The like confidence in the walls of the Temple exists 
among the Jews of the present day. Assembled in a particular spot 
which they call ' the place of wailing,' they mourn their desolate 
condition, and think that if they can pour their petition through a 
certain chink in the wall, they are sure of being heard. 

" In the time of our Lord, this spirit specially distinguished the 
Pharisees : (phylacteries — long prayers — boasted relation to Abraham 
— making clean the outside of the cup and platter — honouring Gdd 
with their mouth). Previous to his conversion, Paul, who belonged 
to that sect, believed that he could obtain justification before God 
through external obedience to the law. See Phil. iii. 

" And what shall we say, my brethren, with respect to the indulg- 
ence of the same spirit under the name of Christianity ? Ah ! we 
meet with it here, as to form and degree, scarcely exceeded by Pagan- 
ism itself. From a disposition to place reliance on outward acts and 



SERMON. 445 

circumstances, how soon were the few and simple rites of the Christian 
Institute huried beneath a load of accumulated ceremonies ! How 
soon did the spiritual give place to the material, the heavenly to the 
earthly, until at length that monstrous system of Anti-christian super- 
stition and will-worship was carried to perfection in the Eoman 
church as we see it to this day. Who can witness the splendid cere- 
monial of the Romanists, or reflect on their paternosters, their Ave- 
Marias, their payment of stipulated sums as penance-money, their 
pilgrimages, mortifications, adorations of the cross, relics, images, and 
the like, without seeing a studied plan for meeting and gratifying the 
propensity to regard outward observances as all in all in religion 1 

" Among Protestants, too, the same propensity very extensively 
prevails. To what else are we to ascribe the dogmas that no legiti- 
mate or acceptable worship can be presented to the Deity except in 
consecrated buildings ; that none but a certain order of men, pro- 
fessedly holding by succession from the apostles, and authorized by 
the imposition of episcopal hands, are warranted to preach and ad- 
minister the ordinances of the gospel ; that water-baptism is regenera- 
tion, and that the Lord's Supper has, in the mere observance of fit, a 
supernatural and saving efficacy 1 

" And is there not reason to fear that even among those who repu- 
diate these notions, and who profess a sounder creed, and adhere to a 
simpler ecclesiastical constitution, there are to be found persons whose 
religion is merely hereditary — consisting entirely of forms and usages, 
few as they may be. my brethren, amid all the deception which 
abounds on every side, let us individually examine ourselves, lest we 
also should be found relying upon a religion which is merely external, 
lest we should be looking even to divinely-appointed means for that 
which does not inhere in them, and which can only be supplied by an 
actual exertion of Divine agency. Let us see to it that we renounce all 
dependence upon ourselves, upon all that we ever have done or ever 
can do, for acceptance with God, and that we place our exclusive 
trust in the infinite merits of his well-beloved Son for pardon, and in 
the influences of his Holy Spirit for our renewal and sanctification. 

" II. I observe, that this reliance on externals, by diverting atten- 
tion from the proper objects of faith, prevents the communication of 
the Divine Messing. This was strikingly exemplified in the case of 
Elisha on the occasion before us. The superstitious notions which he 
entertained of the wonder-working virtue of his master's mantle pre- 
vented his placing that confidence in, and making that direct applica- 
tion for the exertion of the power of God, by which alone the miracle 
could be wrought. The consequence was that this power was not 
exerted, and the advantage sought by the prophet was not realized. 



446 CLOSING YEARS. 

" Such likewise was the result in the case of the Hebrews who ex- 
pected deliverance from the ark. They paid dearly for their misplaced 
confidence, and their want of faith in Jehovah: 1 Sam. iv. 11. 
Throughout the history of the Jewish people, we find that when they 
transferred their confidence from God, whether to false gods, or to 
their allies, or to their own sacrifices, they forfeited His favour, and 
rendered themselves obnoxious to the infliction of His judgments. 
See Psa. lxxviii. 58 — 62 ; Isa. xxx. 1 — 3 ; and 1. 11. That it was 
only by abandoning all these external and false objects of trust, and 
fixing their attention on God alone, making Him the object of their 
confidence, that they could expect prosperity, the prophet expressly 
testifies: Isa.vii.9. On the other hand, it was ever experienced by them 
that by i observing lying vanities, they forsook their own mercies.' 

" In the New Testament we find similar illustrations of our remark. 
The Pharisees religiously kept a number of traditionary observances, 
superadded to the divine law ; thinking thereby to secure the favour 
of God; but our blessed Lord tells them plainly, ' Howbeit in vain do 
they serve me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.' 
Looking to circumcision, or in any way depending upon works for 
justification, is in like manner declared to be fruitless : Gal. v. 2 ; and 
iii. 10. JNow the principle on which this rests is, That the Lord 
Jesus Christ is set forth in his mediatorial person and work, as the 
only object to which the guilty are to look, and to which they are to 
trust for their salvation. ' Look unto me, and be ye saved, for I am 
God, and besides me there is none else.' Whatever, therefore, is 
suffered to obscure Him as the Sun of Righteousness, or to hide Him 
as the Lamb of God from view, — whatever is placed between Him and 
the sinner, — or whatever is placed beside Him, or attempted to be 
joined with Him, as the procuring cause of pardon and eternal life, 
must necessarily alienate the mind from Him, and fix it upon that 
other object, which, as a differencing consideration, will engross the 
thoughts, and assert its claims to confidence. Hence it is that in the 
Apostolical Epistles, faith and works, or grace and works, are so 
diametrically opposed to each other in the scheme of the gospel. 

" Let us, therefore, carefully and zealously see to it, that we suffer 
nothing to usurp the place of our blessed Redeemer. Let us beware 
of erecting any imaginary righteousness of our own, or any good deeds 
whatever, into a pedestal whereon to fix our hopes for eternity. 
1 Christ' alone l is the end of the law for righteousness,' etc. 

" III. I observe, that means possess no inherent power of their own 
to produce spiritual effects. As there was no natural efficacy in the 
mantle of Elijah, as it was in itself utterly inadequate to produce the 
effect which Elisha desired, so the external means of grace are of 



SERMON. 447 

themselves incapable of producing any saving change in the souls of 
men. In the water of baptism, which is symbolical of the purifying 
influences of the Holy Spirit, there is indeed an admirable adaptation 
to exhibit these influences to the mind, just as there is in the bread 
and the wine used in the Lord's Supper an adaptation to bring to the 
view of faith His body and blood, of which they are emblems. But 
neither in the one ordinance, nor in the other, does there reside any in- 
trinsic mystical power or any vital energy to purify the heart, or to 
afford it true spiritual nourishment. 

" And thus also it is even with respect to the gospel itself. How- 
ever rich the words may be, and replete with divine meaning ; how- 
ever excellent or glorious the truths which they express ; however 
touching the narratives, and however cogent the arguments, which 
they embody ; however winning and persuasive the motives which 
they supply ; — in a word, however rationally calculated to enlighten 
the understanding and move the will, — they are nevertheless destitute 
of force sufficient to overcome the natural obstinacy and rebellion of 
the human heart, or to inspire it with a new and spiritual life. Of 
this we are furnished with melancholy proof in the multitudes who 
read the Scriptures, or who hear the preaching of the gospel, but 
remain in an unregenerate state. Means in themselves, therefore, how- 
ever appropriate as means, and however inexcusable they leave those 
who enjoy but neglect to improve them, are insufficient to produce true 
conversion to God. There must be a distinct supernatural agency ; 
the direct agency of the Holy Spirit ; the internal exertion of His 
divine power, opening the heart to attend, preparing it duly to 
appreciate and cheerfully to yield to the force of the arguments ex- 
ternally proposed in the word. 

.' This doctrine is clearly taught in Scripture. David prayed, ' Open 
thou mine eyes,' etc. It was because ' the hand of the Lord,' or His 
omnipotent and saving power, ' was with the Apostles,' that ' a great 
number believed.' (So of Lydia.) ' I have planted,' said Paul, ' and 
Apollos watered ;' — how ? by faithfully, earnestly, energetically and 
eloquently preaching the great truths of the gospel. Yet their suc- 
cess is ascribed, not to their fidelity, or earnestness, or eloquence, 
but to a Divine operation : ' So, then, neither is he that planteth, 
anything,' etc. Thus we read that ' the kingdom of God is not in 
word, but in power,' for important as the word is to its establishment 
and enlargement, the power of God must accompany it to render it 
effectual. Were it otherwise, there would be no propriety in our 
praying for the Divine blessing on the reading and hearing of the 
word : it would be mocking the Most High with words without 
meaning, it would be asking Him to perform a work of supererogation. 



448 CLOSING YEARS. 

" We live, my brethren, in an age of Pelagian tendencies. There 
is spreading around us a disposition to exalt human power, and to de- 
preciate, if not to reason away altogether, the special influences of the 
Holy Spirit, and to invest external instrumentality and agency with 
a saving efficacy. Let us be on our guard against these errors. While 
thankful for, and diligent in employing the means of grace which 
God has wisely instituted, let us not fail to exercise a lively faith in 
the promised influences of the Holy Spirit, whose it is to create us 
anew in Christ Jesus, and to work in us both to will and to do of the 
Divine good pleasure. 

"IV. My last observation is, that the weakest and most unlikely 
means, when attended with the Divine Messing, may be productive of 
the most wonderful effects. What was there in the mantle of Elijah 
that it should divide the waters of Jordan, or in the rod of Moses that 
it should divide those of the Eed Sea, or in the rams' horns that 
they should effect the downfall of the walls of Jericho ? Yet when 
the mantle was applied, and the rod stretched forth, and the horns 
blown, in the exercise of faith in the power of God, the results fol- 
lowed. What is there apparently in the simple announcement of the 
doctrine of the Cross to subdue the opposition of a rebellious world ? 
Yet to what an extent has that opposition been subdued ! In less 
than three centuries that docrine triumphed over the idolatry of the 
Roman Empire, and over the philosophy of Greece. And still it is 
triumphing, proving itself to be ' the power of God unto salvation,' 
etc. Let it only be preached in its simplicity and its purity, and we 
need not fear the subtlety of modern philosophy, or the effrontery of 
modern infidelity. ' The counsel of the Lord shall stand.' Frequently 
has instrumentality the most unpromising been successful in the con- 
version of men : 1 Cor. i. The weapons of the Apostolic warfare 
were not carnal, but ' mighty through God,' etc. The treasure was 
' in earthen vessels,' etc. 

" My brethren, while we humble ourselves before God from a con- 
viction of our own weakness, let us exercise the most unbounded con- 
fidence in His almighty power. Let us never be discouraged by the 
apparent inadequacy of our means, the number of our enemies, or the 
vastness of the obstacles which lie in our way. Let us have faith in 
God, and we shall surmount every difficulty, and be l made more 
than conquerors,' etc. 

" Let us learn the estimate which we ought ever to make of means 
and of instruments. Let us beware of ever making Saviours of them. 
Let us remember that as means have no life in themselves, so of 
themselves they can give none to us. Let us never imagine that the 
mere use of them will procure for us any saving benefit. Let us 



SERMON. 449 

regard thein as media of Divine appointment, employed by the Holy 
Spirit for commencing, carrying forward, and maturing His work in 
the soul. Let us never forget that it is His accompanying influence 
alone which can render them effectual. 

" Finally. What is the bearing of our subject upon the unconverted? 
Assuredly its proper tendency is to humble you in the very dust 
before God ; to fill you with astonishment at the blindness and hard- 
ness of your heart ; and to stir you up earnestly to apply for the all- 
subduing power of the Holy Spirit. Is it indeed the case that evi- 
dence so clear, and arguments^so powerful, as those which urge to the 
acceptance of the gospel, and which, were they applied in reference to 
any other subject, could not fail to workconviction, and prompt you 
to decided and earnest action, nevertheless produce no effect upon you ? 
Then in what a state must you be, to reject that which has not only 
all the evidence of truth to support it, but which is in itself most ex- 
cellent and glorious. May God grant you repentance to the acknow- 
ledging of the truth !" 

It must not be concluded from the foregoing specimen 
that Dr. Henderson was one of those who frequently dwelt 
upon the errors which were rife. He judged, and with 
wisdom, that to preach a truth is the best and surest way 
of preaching down its antagonistic falsehood. Nor did he 
dwell on any one truth, or any one set of truths, with 
exclusive prominence, but sought to declare e< the whole 
counsel of God." At Mortlake, his labours for the pulpit 
were mostly those of re-modelling and re-transcription. 
He selected old subjects from the store he had on hand, 
but he wrote them in a larger character to meet his failing 
powers of sight, and in so doing he gave them the fresh- 
ness which new illustrations or seasonable allusions might 
impart. In his study he wrote them ; under one or other 
of the fine, old trees in Richmond Park, overshadowing 
some secluded nook near the Sheen Gate, he would ponder 
the theme upon which his pen had been employed. 

Spare hours could still be found for duties of another 
kind. The British and Foreign Bible Society supplied 

2 G 



450 



CLOSING YEARS. 



useful work for him to do. For two or three years he was 
engaged in revising for them the proof-sheets of a Turkish 
Genesis and Psalter, a Turkish New Testament, and an 
edition of the Danish Bihle. The former of these works 
was not unattended with difficulties. An Effendi had 
given it the needful literary attention, for which the aid 
of a native was indispensable ; but it was necessary for the 
Christian scholar to look closely into every phrase, to 
hold conference with the Turk about shades of meaning 
and niceties of expression, as well as to correspond occa- 
sionally with the Society's Editorial Superintendent. It 
can readily be imagined that it was not easy to select pre- 
cise equivalents for the names of some among the Jewish 
feasts, without involving the danger of identifying them 
with certain of the festivals of Islamism. Hence, as one 
has well expressed it, there was " more difficulty in freeing 
David from a share in the habits of the { faithful,' than 
might have been at first supposed." When these works 
had been at length completed, Dr. Henderson took a 
marked and thankful interest in the facilities secured for 
their distribution, in consequence of England's alliance 
with Turkey on the outbreaking of the Russian war. " I 
have a hand in this war," he would say ; " but these are 
the weapons I have helped to furnish," pointing to a copy 
of the portable Turkish Testament, of which he joyfully 
heard that several of the British officers had provided 
themselves with a supply, in order that they might fight 
the spiritual battle of the Cross at the same time that they 
were engaged in the political defence of the Crescent. 

His readiness to work far exceeded his strength to work. 
It was not long that so much could with safety be accom- 
plished. The fatal disease, which had been threatening, 
made slow but sure advances. It was gradually that those 



ATTACK OF ILLNESS. 451 

who were around him became alive to its insidious ap- 
proach. The "Stat pro ratione voluntas" with which 
now he would reply to any question as to the grounds of 
his opinion, was regarded at the first as a pleasantry • 
whereas it eventually proved itself to have been a token 
that the reasoning powers had already begun at times to 
lose their activity. It was not till some little while after 
apprehensions had first been entertained, that a serious 
attack marked them to have been too well-founded. The 
seizure took place in the pulpit, on the first Sabbath 
evening of 1853. He rose, and attempted to read his 
text, but his eyesight failed. He attempted to give it out 
from recollection, but memory failed to recall chapter and 
verse. It was manifest that something was amiss. Neither 
of the deacons was able to be out that winter-evening, and 
there was no resource but to proceed as best he could. 
Repeating the words of the text almost correctly, he took 
up the theme he had prepared, dwelt on the parable of 
the barren fig-tree and the gracious intercessor, and 
enforced the truths which lie involved beneath the alle- 
goric drapery. The discourse, as to structure, was ram- 
bling and repetitious, but he was mercifully assisted to go 
through it, and kept from uttering any sentiment that was 
either erroneous or irrelevant. Medical orders interdicted 
pulpit-labour for a while ; and change of air was sought- 
In the course of a few weeks, however, he was again in 
the pulpit, and was able to continue his labours with 
tolerable constancy during the spring. 

In the summer he was induced to visit Scotland. It was 
the last time he was permitted to see his native land. In 
his letters of earlier years, there had been brief records of 
former visits to his childhood's home. Thus, on one occa- 
sion, he had written : — 



452 CLOSING YEARS. 

" I set off for Dunfermline, where I found my brother and sister 
quite well, and greatly rejoiced to see me. I lodged with their 
minister, at whose chapel I had been twice announced to preach. 
On "Wednesday, my brother and I went over about nine miles of 
ground. We visited the very spot where first I saw the light of 

day — the very house, though in part rebuilt We also visited 

Lochend, where I spent the days of my youth, which altogether, 
with subsequent associations, produced feelings quite overpowering." 

When next he had gone into the neighbourhood, his 
sister-in-law no longer lived to welcome him : — 

" My brother and family {four generations living together) send 
their kind regards to you. My brother is much failed, but was able 
to walk about with me, and make a call or two." 

But the visit of 1853 must have been felt on both sides to 
be a parting interview; for in each brother, the tokens 
of age were already manifest.* Such must likewise have 
been the impression, when Dr. Henderson lingered awhile 
at Dundee, with the friend and fellow-traveller of his 
early years. f The latter gave him much sound advice, 
and cautioned him not to over-exert his brain. But he 
was little disposed to listen, for his heart was in his work. 
Although he returned home, fully bent on prosecuting 
his official duties, there were repeated indications of his 
unfitness for public engagements. The responsibility and 
excitement of conducting even a week-evening service in- 
creased the tendency to confusion of thought. His friends 

* The January of the following yea* witnessed the decease of the elder 
brother, in the eighty-fifth year of his age. Of his ten children, seven 
are surviving ; viz. John Henderson, Esq., of Wavertree, connected for 
nearly thirty years past with the District Bank of Liverpool ; William 
Henderson, Esq., merchant, of Elm Grove, near Liverpool ; Dr. Ebenezer 
Henderson, already named ; one daughter at Southport, and three in 
Scotland. 

f This was about two years before Dr. Paterson's decease, which 
occurred in July 1855. 



THE PASTORATE RESIGNED. 453 

became very urgent for his relinquishment of the pastorate. 
At length he yielded to their entreaties, and left the pulpit 
to be supplied by those who were still in the vigour of 
life. In September, 1853, after having held the pastorate 
for only a year and a quarter, he retired into the capacity 
of a private church-member, caring still for the people's 
interests, and appealed to by them for his counsels. 

"I indeed grieve to learn," wrote one of his former 
students, "that the cause of your having relinquished 
pastoral work is such as you assign. Yet you will allow 
me to say that the fact I do not regret. I cannot but 
reflect that thus you will be able to give your undivided 
attention to that department of labour in which I know 
you take so much delight, and in which, with your accu- 
mulated stores of learning, you cannot but be much more 
widely and permanently useful." His earliest and oldest 
friend counselled him to go on with his " Ezekiel," but to 
take it only a little at a time, as he was able to bear it. In 
this way, he was able to work with comfort and success. 
He was fit for the pen when he was not fit for the pulpit, 
because he could lay aside the former at any moment, if 
thought became a burden. When the responsibilities of 
office were laid down, there was a revival of power for 
quieter duties at home. Thus it was that he accepted, 
about this time, an interesting and important commission. 
Dr. Mason Good, that eminent Christian physician, the 
t{ Luke" of modern times, had left in manuscript a trans- 
lation of the Book of Psalms, with critical and explanatory 
annotations.* An esteemed member of that author's 



* " The Book of Psalms. A New Translation, with Notes, critical and 
explanatory. By the late John Mason Good, M.D., F.R.S., Author of a 
New Translation of the Book of Job," etc. Edited by the Pvev. E. Hen- 
derson, D.D. London, 1854. 8vo (pp. 539). 



454 CLOSING YEARS. 

family requested that Dr. Henderson, if the work com- 
mended itself to his judgment, would undertake the 
editorship. It was with something bordering almost on 
veneration that he opened the parcel wherein were , en- 
closed the time-worn pages, on which the hand of learning 
and of piety had traced the results of prayerful study and 
of hallowed enquiry. He had not to read far, before he 
was amply convinced that the valuable remarks which 
they contained, ought to find an embodiment in type, and 
that it would have been " a loss to the church of God, had 
they been consigned to oblivion." The sympathies of the 
editor were in full harmony with the principles of the 
author. The two commentators proceeded on the same 
rule of adherence, when possible, to the printed text ; 
they entertained the same dread of unfounded specula- 
tions ; they were actuated by the same reverential desire 
to ascertain and to express what is "the mind of the 
Spirit." 

Another year rolled away amid these duties. It was 
marked by ebbs and flows of physical and mental power. 
Surely, though as yet at times almost imperceptibly, the 
tide of life was receding, and the fulness of life's labours 
was diminishing. The Commentary on Ezekiel* was doubt- 
less far more brief than it would have been, had he retained 
all the energy and capacity of former days. Though it 
was shorter than his former works, it has not been pro- 
nounced inferior to them. It is true that a few minor 
difficulties have been passed over, which the reader 
would have been glad to see even cursorily noticed ; but 
all the grand questions have been searchingly investigated, 

* " The Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, translated from the original 
Hebrew, with a Commentary, critical, philological, and exegetical. By 
E. Henderson, D.D." London, 1855. 8vo (pp. 219). 



COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL. 455 

thoughtfully surveyed, and perspicuously treated. It has 
been a matter of surprise to many, that amid so much 
of bodily and mental infirmity, he could succeed in pro- 
ducing such a work. The explanation, perhaps, is three- 
fold. As to its literary features, it may be observed that 
the materials had to a great extent been collected in ad- 
vance. As to its clearness of argument and of expression, it 
may be borne in mind that the actual elimination of thought 
and arrangement of matter were reserved for hours — and 
they were many — when mental power was still at command. 
Finally, and chiefly, it must be remembered that he re- 
tained what is the most indispensable of all qualifications 
in the Biblical critic — the " kindlich Gemuth," the child- 
like spirit, which prevails, beyond the keen-sightedness of 
mere intellect, to the comprehension of those things which 
are divine.* The eye of the heart was single, the spiritual 
perception was undimmed. 

Two of the main points that contribute to the obscurity 
of Ezekiel's prophecy, namely, the mention of the che- 
rubim, and the details concerning the mountain-temple, 
were made the subject of special disquisition. Both these 
topics had called for intensest thought ; and that process 
of thought had been of long continuance. Perplexing as 
were the themes, he had steadily looked at them, till he 
was satisfied that he had seized on a principle of interpre- 
tation, which was at once simple in itself, and adequate to 
meet the requirements of the text. In reference to the 
cherubic manifestation, he followed out the hint originally 
advanced by Von Meyer, and came to the conclusion that 
if the cherubim of one sacred writer differed from the 

* The head-motto to this chapter was found among the passages 
entered by him in an extract-book, and thus proves how deeply he felt the 
importance of a moral fitness for interpreting the words of sacred truth. 



456 CLOSING YEARS. 

cherubim of another inspired penman in form, so might 
there be a like diversity in the intended symbolism. Re- 
jecting, therefore, the idea that there must be an identity, 
either in nature or significance between the cherub of the 
Apocalyptic seer and that which w r as beheld beside the 
banks of Chebar, he regarded the wonderful and glorious 
manifestation as having been, in the latter instance, a 
powerfully impressive teaching of God's superintendent 
providence, and the agency by which it was to work for the 
punishment of the rebellious Jews. In respect to the 
temple vision, Dr. Henderson had not always held the 
opinion which, in this volume, he advanced. But on close 
study of the subject, and after prolonged attention to its 
various bearings, he felt constrained to arrive at the con- 
clusion that Ezekiel was thus furnished with a symbolic 
representation, which, though but an ideal model, might 
prophetically denote the literal restoration of the captives 
in Babylon to their sanctuary-privileges and sacrificial in- 
stitutes in the metropolis of Canaan. The mode in which 
he winds up both the subject and the volume, has now a 
mournful, yet consolatory significance : — 

" Here endeth this remarkable vision, which, though greatly mys- 
tified by many of the attempts that have been made to explain it, 
stands forth to view on the sacred page as a noble specimen of Divine 
wisdom, admirably calculated to inspire the captive exiles in Baby- 
lonia with the cheering hope of their re-settlement in their own 
land, and the restoration of their beloved metropolis and temple. 
In contemplating it, the truly spiritually-minded Christian, with his 
thoughts raised above all earthly localities, will not, as the Germans 
express it, perplex himself with Griibeleien, subtle and trifling en- 
quiries, but will grasp the grand ideas which the vision suggests, 
and anticipate for himself in a future world a realization of what 
was only dimly shadowed forth by that which is here described. 
May it be the happiness of the writer, and each of his readers, to be 
raised to dwell in the house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens !" 



COMMENTARY OX EZEKIEL. 457 

Such was the conclusion of his last printed work. The 
heavenly home on which his thoughts were set, was not 
far distant. 

It is not certain, however, that he wrote the above under 
the impression that he was laying aside the author's pen. 
He must have felt it very doubtful whether he should live 
to complete another work ; yet there is evidence that then, 
or soon afterwards, he had Daniel's prophecy in view. He 
supplied himself with Lengerke and other commentaries. 
He even composed the first page or two; and the hand- 
writing testifies that it was among his last efforts. It seems 
probable that he had a wish to complete the entire pro- 
phetic series, but that he found himself unable to carry out 
the design. The one prophet, on whom he had not written 
an independent commentary, was the very one toward 
whose elucidation he had more than once been a secondary 
and subordinate contributor. Yet it cannot but be felt 
that neither his translation of Roos, nor his revision of 
Barnes, puts us fully in possession of what might have 
been his own individual conclusions, had strength been 
given him to pursue his studies. 

The last three years of life were marked by a very gentle 
but constantly progressive decline. Slight paralytic affec- 
tions were of increasingly frequent recurrence, and each 
attack told upon his already feeble frame. His life was 
very different from what it had been. Yet it was no 
burden to him, chiefly by reason of his native contented- 
ness of disposition, and his long-cherished habit of Chris- 
tian submission, as well as in part perhaps from the fact 
that the growing torpor of the intellectual faculties was 
mercifully accompanied by a proportionate deadening of 
those vivid memories of past laboriousness, and that realiz- 
ing consciousness of present incompetence, which might 



458 CLOSING YEARS. 

otherwise have combined to render the trial bitterly acute. 
In calm child-like weanedness of soul, and unwavering 
affiance on the God whose he was, and whom he served, 
he was tranquilly led through the evening-shades of life. 
(i I have seen very little trouble — very little trouble/' was 
the remark which one of the Sunday-school teachers heard 
him make with unusual energy and distinctness only a few 
weeks before his earthly course was at an end. 

His power of appreciating his ordinary mercies was 
happily retained. He could find enjoyment in minor 
occupations, that helped to make his hours glide away. 
He could take delight in his "Times" newspaper — 
his book — his daily walk — the society of friends — and 
the privileges of the house of God. His seat in the 
sanctuary was never unnecessarily vacant. He would 
count the days till the Sabbath returned ; and when cir- 
cumstances allowed the holding of a week-day service, he 
was among those who rejoiced to share in it. He heartily 
welcomed the supplies who were engaged to fill the pulpit. 
Some were old, and some young ; some were friends, and 
some strangers; some were professors, and some students; 
some were from New College, and some from Hackney; 
but each and all found from him a ready demonstration of 
good-will. Gladly would he have seen a pastor settled 
over the people of his former charge; but this gratification 
was denied him. In all the hopes and fears, wishes and 
disappointments of the little church, he sincerely sym- 
pathized. They were an intelligent people, and could 
appreciate the best preaching. They were a small band, 
and the generality of them not blessed with this world's 
wealth. The sphere was therefore limited,* and those 

* A larger interest might doubtless be created. The neighbouring 
■villages of Kew, Barnes, and Roehampton have (with the one exception 
of the Chapel of Ease at Castelnau), no Protestant place of worship except 



DECLINE OF STRENGTH. 459 

whose services they would gladly have secured were not 
likely to settle where there was chapel-accommodation 
only for 200, while congregations of 1000 hearers were 
elsewhere unprovided with a minister. During the suc- 
cessive summers, the managers of the chapel affairs availed 
themselves of the New College vacation to secure a con- 
tinuance of six weeks' or two months' services from one or 
other of the students. There were three, whose visits were 
peculiarly acceptable ; and in their society, Dr. Henderson 
found much enjoyment. He delighted to walk out with 
them, and to show them the beauties of the neighbourhood, 
or to introduce them to the members of the church and 
congregation. His step was feeble, and his pace was slow ; 
but they heeded not the restraint thus imposed on their 
activity, for they admired his character, and they valued 
his advice. Two of them are now settled in important 
stations of ministerial usefulness ; the third has been early 
summoned to the mansions of everlasting rest.* 

Another of his enjoyments consisted in his occasional 
visits to town. He was glad of any pretext to meet his 
<e brethren." When he was obliged to give up such en- 
gagements as would have kept him in London after dusk, 
he still found his way to some morning Committee, or to 
some ministerial gathering. In fraternal assemblies of 
Christian teachers he had always taken great delight. In 
Iceland, he had recommended their utility, when convers- 
ing with the clergy.f It was for a short time only that he 

their respective parish churches, and these would be found quite inade- 
quate to meet the wants of the population, could all be induced to observe 
the assembling of themselves together. 

* The Rev. J. G. Reed, B.A., who died at St. Kilda, in Australia, 
July, 1858. Those who knew him can understand the full force of Mr. 
Binney's testimony, that he was " well educated, very intelligent, deeply 
devotional, and earnestly and beautifully good." (See Evangelical Maga- 
zine for December, 1858.) f Iceland. Vol. ii. p. 216. 



460 CLOSING YEARS. 

could join in the spiritual exercises of the pastoral associa- 
tion in the district where last he resided; but in those 
meetings, while he could attend them, he took an extreme 
delight. The social monthly or half-yearly meetings in 
town were so strongly linked with his fondest recollections 
of intercourse with his fellow-ministers, that he felt unable 
to forego his attendance on them. He went thither again 
and again, even when the power of fully entering into the 
enjoyment of them had been lost. The weariness which 
they now entailed was soon forgotten; while memory, 
dwelling on the more distant past, impelled him to seek a 
repetition of the pleasures once vividly experienced in fra- 
ternal intercourse. It was with kindness that he was 
received among those friends, and it was with watchful 
care that he was seen upon his homeward way. The at- 
tentions, which became increasingly essential to his safety 
amid the bewildering noises and crowded thoroughfares of 
the metropolis, were tendered to him by one and another 
with an assiduity, tenderness, and perseverance, which his 
relatives will not easily forget. 

So slow were the inroads of disease, that their effect was 
visible more by comparison than by actual observation. 
His walks became shorter ; his periods of rest more fre- 
quent. Protracted conversation became a fatigue. His 
hand was often lifted to his brow. Music, to which he 
had usually been indifferent, became a disturbance. From 
old habit he sat with a book in his hand ; but often it was 
evident that he was meditating rather than reading, or if 
reading, that his eye was passing mechanically over the 
lines rather than his mind grasping the sense. 

In nothing was the gradual change more apparent than 
in reference to his printed works. When " Ezekiel " was 
carried through the press, he felt it advisable that the 



DECLINE OE STRENGTH. 461 

sheets should pass beneath another eye as well as his own. 
"When a second edition of "Isaiah 5 ' followed, he left the 
labour to be accomplished under his superintendence, while 
he was ready to answer every question, and to render all 
needful aid by pointing out sources or modes of verifica- 
tion. When the second edition of the " Minor Prophets " 
was in hand, he rarely even looked at a sheet, and when re- 
ferred to on any matter of difficulty, it was often hours, if 
not days, before memory could command a reply, or refer 
to an authority. It has been needful to advert to this, as 
unfolding the reason why these editions were almost lite- 
rally reprints. Many friends had favoured him with sug- 
gestions as to some of his remarks ; and to one or two of 
these correspondents he promised that in a future edition 
he would carefully re-consider, and if necessary, re-con- 
struct the passages against which they had taken more 
or less objection. He thus availed himself of friendly 
criticisms in revising the second edition of his Lectures on 
Inspiration ; and he would have been no less glad to do 
the like in reference to his Commentaries. He had trusted, 
however, to his then-vigorous memory; and when the time 
for revision came, he had not only lost sight of the hints, 
but was scarcely competent to have made a fitting use of 
them. He did, or caused to be done, what he perceived 
to be needful.* Obvious errors of the press were amended. 

* While prepared to adopt whatever hints commended themselves to 
his judgment, he knew how to abide by his own view, or his own phrase, 
when he saw not the force of the critic's observation. One reviewer, who 
eulogized his first Commentary, took exception to his frequent use of the 
name "Jehovah." Yet in all his after works, he persevered in his cus- 
tomary adoption of the term. There can be no doubt that it was on 
principle he thus deviated from Jewish custom and ecclesiastical usage. 
I imagine it to have been from his regarding this, which was the incom- 
municable covenant-name of the true God, as peculiarly distinctive and 
expressive. But on this point I never heard him speak. 



4:62 CLOSING YEARS. 

A few additions were made from the MS. remarks already- 
inserted in his own copy with a view to re-publication. 
One or two notes he altered ; but the immense amount of 
labour it cost him, and the repeated but unremitting efforts 
he made, successfully to re-model the few lines on Isa. 
xxxv. i., where he renounces in the second edition the 
" colchicum autumnale " of Gesenius, and returns to the 
idea of " rose " as advocated by Alexander and Barnes, 
were a mournful token that his power fell short of his will. 

Every such effort was a strain upon his mind that proved 
injurious. Nor was spontaneous thought less to be dreaded. 
Those moments, when the clouded intellect burst forth with 
somewhat of its ancient radiance, were always the precursors 
of a relapse. To give one instance in point : — After his 
speech had become to some extent affected, he had been 
under the necessity of ceasing to conduct family-worship ; 
but one evening, when spending a few social hours with 
the family of the junior deacon, he was asked whether it 
would be too much for him to lead the evening-devotions. 
Consenting to do so, he expressed his petitions with a 
clearness of articulation, a vigour and consecutiveness of 
thought, a comprehensiveness of range, a minuteness of 
detail, and an appropriateness of request, that reminded 
the entire circle of his bygone powers. But it was not a 
healthful activity of brain which enabled him to make the 
effort; and it was not surprising that the next morning 
brought with it a renewed loss of power in the limbs. 

The last year of his life was not altogether spent in out- 
ward tranquillity. Omission would be unfaithfulness ; else, 
for the sake of many who feel tenderly upon the subject, it 
should have passed unnoticed. His refusal to pay church- 
rates, and his determination to have his goods seized, rather 
than violate a principle which he held sacred, brought upon 



LAST YEAR OF LIFE. 463 

him his last experience of trouble from without. It would be 
out of place to enter on any vindication of his course. All 
that is requisite is to prove, that whether men deem him to 
have acted right or wrong, he was acting on deliberate con- 
viction. It will easily gain credence, that one who had so 
long lived a peaceable and quiet life, one who was a loyal 
subject, an advocate for obedience to rightful law, and a 
pattern of Christian catholicity and charity, would not 
lightly have been induced, especially at a time of life when 
men naturally shrink from the arena of conflict, to make a 
wilful opposition to parish-votes, to offer a determined resist- 
ance to enforced demands, or knowingly to grieve any who 
belong to the brotherhood of faith. So fully was this con- 
ceded on all hands, that those who did not sympathize with 
him as to his line of conduct, could not but be surprised at 
it. Some ascribed it to the influence of a neighbour and 
friend. The excuse cannot truthfully be accepted. What 
he did was his own act, and was done of his own accord ; 
for the time of his being called upon to do it, was just when 
disease had superinduced a habit of w^persuadability which 
was alien to his true nature. Others have pleaded that he so 
acted under the infirmity and weakness of an age-enfeebled 
judgment. But this, likewise, is a statement which may not 
be endorsed. In the days of his full mental vigour he was 
often known to speak on the subject ; and though he was 
no friend to violent movements, no friend to party-spirit, 
no friend to obtrusive demonstrations on questions per- 
taining to civil rights, he regarded this as a religious 
matter, and invariably held that those who conscientiously 
dissent from the Establishment, cannot conscientiously 
contribute to its support. This life-long opinion had 
never been called into open manifestation. Never in foreign 
lands had he been forced to pay to the religious institutions 



464 CLOSING YEARS. 

of the kingdoms in which he sojourned. . Never at home had 
he resided in parishes where these rates were indiscrimi- 
nately levied. Even during the first few years of his resi- 
dence at Mortlake, the rate had not been enforced. As soon 
as the payment was insisted on, then he felt compelled to 
make a stand. In so doing, he did not forget the Chris- 
tian charity to which he would have sacrificed everything 
but what he esteemed Christian duty. He uttered no 
vindictive word, displayed no unbecoming spirit, but was 
ready as ever to stretch out the hand of fellowship toward 
all who bore the name and image of his Master. 

It was often regretted by his friends that those who be- 
came^ but slightly acquainted with him in his later years 
had not known him in the brightness of his days. Even 
to the last, however, that saying was verified, " Them that 
honour me I will honour." He had the respect of young 
and old, high and low. There were gentlemen of literary 
eminence, who met him casually by the roadside or at the 
railway-station, and kindly greeted him, or offered him 
some seasonable service. It may be that he could scarcely 
command language to compass the expression of his thanks, 
but he remembered the polite attention, and told of it on 
his return to the fire-side. 

The time was fast hastening, when he should be called 
beyond the reach of earthly ministrations or kindnesses. 
The last Sabbath of March, 1858, saw him for the last time 
within the chapel-walls. He had the pleasure that morn- 
ing of hearing his friend the Rev. Dr. Leifchild, who was 
also his guest on the occasion. Greatly did he enjoy the 
opportunity of renewed intercourse, and was none the 
worse for that pleasure, although the very anticipation of 
it had seemed almost too great an excitement. The follow- 
ing week passed on as usual, till the Saturday, when he 



LAST ILLNESS. 465 

appeared somewhat worse, and kept the house on the day 
ensuing. The next week witnessed two or three attacks 
of utter helplessness, but medical advice was sought, and 
the symptoms became less alarming. On April 14th, a 
sudden faintness came on, and for some time he appeared 
like one dying. A friend, having providentially called at 
the very moment of the attack, sent off her chaise to Rich- 
mond for T. B. Anderson, Esq., his Christian friend and 
doctor, who arrived after a very brief interval, and ad- 
ministered a powerfully efficacious remedy, which, under 
the Divine blessing, had a wonderful effect in restoring 
vital power. The next day he kept his bed, but on the 
following he determined to reach his study in the after- 
noon. His friend, the Rev. S. Ransom, Classical Tutor 
of Hackney College, called, and found him there. It was 
the last time he was able to descend the stairs. 

Four weeks more he lingered, evidently growing feebler 
week by week. For a day or two he would rally, but the 
revivings were only temporary. At first, he had the ex- 
pectation of recovery. He was looking forward to the 
meeting of the Evangelical Magazine Trustees. To him 
that periodical gathering had always been a season of in- 
terest, and he had been used to return home full of joy to 
know that many a widow's heart had been made to sing 
for thankfulness on receiving her appropriated share of 
proceeds from the Fund. " Bring me the Magazine," he 
daily said, as long as hope whispered that he might again 
be in his wonted place ; but when the appointed day drew 
nearer, it was evident that he had given up the thought. 
Naturally reserved, it was not likely that he would utter 
much as to his soul's experience. Unable to speak with 
ease, it was difficult to interpret what he did say. Nor 
was any effort made to elicit what is called " a dying 

2 H 



466 CLOSING YEARS. 

testimony/' His whole life had borne its witness to the 
power and preciousness of God's grace. It was manifest 
that in his dying hours he was at peace. We knew the 
rock on which his solid peace was based ; and we would, 
on no account, have been Satan's ministers in suggesting 
doubts by any ill-timed questioning. We sought not even 
a sign, but judged it right to leave him to undisturbed 
communion with his God. • Once or twice he was heard to 
say, " My flesh and my heart faileth ; but God is the 
strength of my heart, and my portion for ever." Yet my 
mother noticed that he sometimes repeated only the latter 
half of the verse, as if his thoughts were engrossed more 
with the spiritual comfort than with the bodily decay. 

He was delighted to see his Christian friends, though 
he was unable to converse with them. Some found their 
way from town on hearing of his illness. His former 
colleagues, the Rev. Dr. Halley, and the Rev. J. H. God- 
win, as well as his steadfastly kind friend, R. Cunliffe, 
Esq., were among the number whom thus he welcomed. 
Their visits cheered his spirits, their sympathy and their 
prayers refreshed his soul. Other friends were in the 
neighbourhood, and assiduously did they minister to his 
comfort. All was done that tender and thoughtful friend- 
ship could devise and effect, both for the invalid, and for 
those who were anxiously watching him. Yet it was not, 
as it cannot be, in the power of earthly affection to lengthen 
out the term of life. 

On the evening of Friday, May 14th, he suffered much 
from feverish symptoms. Before break of day, these had 
passed off, and he appeared more comfortable than for 
some days past. He took his cocoa with more eagerness 
than he had done of late; but while my mother was 
giving it to him, spoonful by spoonful, he turned on her 



DEATH. 467 

an expressive look which seemed to indicate his conscious- 
ness that life was ebbing, and that the parting-time was 
near. About an hour afterwards, she observed a change 
in his mode of breathing. From that time he never spoke 
again. His respirations became heavier and deeper all 
the day and all the succeeding night ; but we were led to 
believe that the suffering was more apparent than actual. 
On my return to the room after a few hours' absence, he 
evidently knew me. Later in the day, when a friend 
came to his bedside, he appeared conscious, but it was 
doubtful whether he could recognise. Through the even- 
ing, he was manifestly thankful to have his parched lips 
moistened ; but, after the midnight hour, there was no 
token that the refreshment was perceived. Thus hour by 
hour were the senses closing upon this lower world, till 
the moment of release had come. At about twenty minutes 
past three, on Sabbath morning, May 16th, the heavy 
breathing ceased, a look of perfect consciousness returned, 
an indescribable expression of mingled pleasure and sur- 
prise passed over his face, a gentle breath was drawn, and 
he entered into his rest. 

On the following Saturday, the funeral took place at 
Abney Park Cemetery. It was followed by his widow 
and daughter, his two nephews from Liverpool, the two 
deacons of the church, and his above-named friend, Roger 
Cunliffe, Esq. They were joined in town by a deputation 
of gentlemen from the " British Society for the Propaga- 
tion of the Gospel among the Jews," and by one of the 
Secretaries of the " Religious Tract Society," who wished 
thus to testify their respect. Several friends were present 
in the Cemetery ; and others would have been there, had 
they known the day and hour of the interment. The 
service was performed by the Rev. Dr. Halley, who, on the 



468 CLOSING YEARS. 

next day, preached a funeral sermon — or rather, a sermon 
on the glorious resurrection-hope — at Sheen Vale Chapel, 
to the people who for a season had been permitted to call 
the deceased their pastor. On the morning of May 30th, 
a similar discourse was preached at Union Chapel, Isling- 
ton, by the Rev. H. Allon, whose kindness permits the 
following extracts to be entered on the pages of the 
Memoir : — 

" To him death was emphatically ' a falling asleep ' — 

the calm and final repose of a long, and active, and worn-out life — 
a gradual but peaceful cessation of conscious energies. Hardly need 
it be said that his Christian hope was sustained and unfaltering — 
that amid the decay of physical faculty, and the wasting power of 
memory and thought, the consciousness of his deep religious soul 
remained ; his faith and hope were perfect. i Heart and flesh failed, 
but God was the strength of his heart and his portion for ever.' 
Like a little child, the man of learned acquisition rested in a common 
trust with the most ignorant upon the simple primary truths of 
Christ's redemption. These alone comforted him, as now they com- 
fort those who have been bereaved. How mysterious is their power! 
When affection would utter its sorrow over a loss like this, it finds 
it unconsciously turned into joy ; condolence insensibly becomes con- 
gratulation ; tears are brightened with the glory that beams from 
Christian anticipations. Over every grave like this, our faith sees 
the Saviour stand, and hears him say, ' I am the resurrection and 
the life : he that believeth in me, though he die, yet shall he live : 
and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest 
thou this ? ' Yea, Lord, we believe, help our unbelief. 

" For many years a member of this church, and a worshipper with 
this congregation, Dr. Henderson was well known to most of you. 
The incidents of his life were various and interesting. They related 
to different kinds of service, and to various parts of the world. . . . 
.... As a theologian, Dr. Henderson rendered no small service to 
the Church of Christ. A firm and uncompromising champion of the 
great fundamental truths of Christianity, his theology might some- 
times seem to be cast in a narrow and rigid mould ; but it was by 
no means inconsistent with independent thought and speculation. 
His Congregational Lecture on the Inspiration of the Scriptures was 
largely in advance of the current thought of the period when it was 
written, and was the pioneer of those larger and more intelligent 



FUNERAL-SERMON. 469 

theories which have since obtained, and which more perhaps than 
any other book it determined. Like Dr. Pye Smith's Lecture on 
Geology, and Dr. Halley's on the Sacraments, it became a text-book 
on the subject of which it treated. Even where all its distinctions 
were not received, it defined and fixed a large amount of loose and 
floating notion, and guided to conclusions identical in principle. 

"Perhaps the interpreting principle of Dr. Henderson's theology 
was its extreme conscientiousness. He was watchful and jealous for 
his creed from moral rather than from polemical feelings. Notion 
with him was subordinate to practical morality — theology to religion. 
All his doctrine was in order to godliness. While he would have 
been the last to compromise fealty to truth, or to think lightly of 
truth for its own sake, yet practically truth was with him the 
foundation and bulwark of sanctity. He conceived of Christian 
theology as in its entireness intended for practical uses. Hence he 
was as careful of minor doctrines as of minor morals, and from the 
same feeling. 

" As a scholar, he was a man of careful and exact acquisition — 
accumulating the stores of his learning in a scholarly way, subjecting 
them to a large degree of his own self-reasonings and judgments, 
and then assigning them their place in his orderly mind for available 
use. Perhaps the impression of acquisition was the first received ; 
but he was far more than a man of mere acquisition. His critical 
Commentaries are marked by great exegetical acumen, by a patient 
power in evolving the sense of the text, and by a stern determination 
to abide by the result. Every commentator since has been largely 
indebted to them, and no expositor of Scripture can wisely omit a 
reference to them. As an Oriental scholar, Dr. Henderson stood in 
the very first rank amongst us, and almost in the first rank amongst 
the Oriental scholars of England,- — perhaps of Europe. 

" It would be difficult to instance a religious character more con- 
scientious, devout, and high-toned. He impressed you at once as 
'fearing God above many ;' pre-eminently was he ' a good man and 
full of the Holy Ghost.' Even in the most casual contact, you could 
not fail to feel that you were in the presence of a man of God. 
Cheerful in conversation — social in habit — and joyous in tempera- 
ment — he yet diffused around him unconsciously a calm pure atmo- 
sphere of pious feeling, in which it seemed natural to live, and the 
purity of which you estimated only by after contact with other forms 
of life. It was a piety beautiful as rare in its gentle simplicity. He 
was in heart a little child — ' simple concerning evil, wise to that 
which is good.' 

" As a member of the church, he was a precious addition to its 



470 CLOSING YEARS. 

sanctity — an example to all its members of simple, devout, and 
regular worship. Whoever might be absent, he was always in his 
place ; whoever might be late, his praise was always found ' waiting 
upon God.' In all that pertained to church order and duty, he was 
scrupulously observant. His presence with us was a perpetual 
means of grace — a constant and unqualified joy to the pastor's heart. 
By word and deed, he ever sought to strengthen the pastor's hands, 
and to cheer his heart. No disparaging remark ever dropped from 
his lips — no slighting act ever caused a misgiving — no assumption 
of superior knowledge or wisdom ever produced a feeling of em- 
barrassment. He listened to the youngest and most inexperienced 
minister as devoutly and unassumingly as to the most mature. If 
he had a remark to make, it was never made so as to give pain — 
always so as to encourage confidence, and to excite gratitude. Never 
once during the seven years that he was a member of this church 
did he excite a thought or a feeling in me but of perfect joy and 
grateful affection. I have no recollection of him but of perfect satis- 
faction — no word to utter concerning him but of loving reverence 
and of respectful commendation. His memory is blessed. It will 
have an honoured place in the hearts of all who knew him. 

" And so he has passed away — a striking example of the purity 
and power of Christian faith — a teaching of the simplicity and moral 
strength and consoling power of true religion — more effective than 
a thousand sermons. His was a humble childlike faith that never 
for a moment wavered — a bright and intelligent hope that was 
never for a moment bedimmed — a quiet and holy joy that kindled 
at every mention of the Redeemer's name or of the Father's house — 
a devout and earnest prayerfulness, that clung without presumption 
and yet without fear to the Divine mercy-seat — a ' looking for the 
mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life ' — a ' peace that 
passeth all understanding, keeping the heart and mind' — leaving 
no place for. the shadow of a fear concerning him, but leaving 
us with a larger faith in t the reality and power of the gospel of 
Christ." 

Numerous were the expressions of esteem for the de- 
parted, that poured in on every hand. There are some 
among them that must find a place on the record. The 
Rev. J. C. Harrison of Camden Town, will scarcely object 
to the admission of a few lines from his kind note of 
condolence : — 



TESTIMONIES OF ESTEEM. 471 

" . . . . . . Not till this morning 1 did I hear that dear Dr. Hen- 
derson has been removed from his earthly labours to his heavenly- 
reward. A more blameless, holy, Christian man, — a more con- 
scientious, laborious, learned workman, surely never lived or laboured 
in the church of Christ. He was one who never wasted time, never 
trifled with truth, never violated charity, never dishonoured his 
Master. All his natural powers, and all his rich and accumulated 
stores, were consecrated to the noblest purposes. He was ' a good 
man, and full of the Holy Ghost ' — an honour to the denomination 
to which he belonged — a blessing to the church, which he enriched 
by his teachings and his writings. But he is gone He has left the 
frail and dying body, which had of late been to his heaven-directed 
spirit rather a prison than a home, and is now f for ever with the 
Lord.' To him, what a blessed change ! No weariness, no weakness, 
no fetters to cramp and hinder the exercises of his mind : — but 
thoughts such as even he never conceived before, — the clear vision 
of Him whom, without seeing, he loved, — the fellowship of perfect 
ones, — purity, love, unfading joy ! 

" But to you, dear Mrs. Henderson, the change has much of dark- 
ness and sorrow. You had long seen, indeed, his powers failing, 
the fountain of life drying up, and had felt that for him ' to depart 
would be far better;' yet to say 'farewell' to one who had so long 
been a faithful, loving husband — an intelligent, genial companion — 
a wise and thoughtful counsellor — a fellow-pilgrim in the journey 
to heaven, — this required the promised grace of the Saviour, the 
clear steady glance of faith. But all is well. He who is the Father 
of the fatherless, and the God of the widow, will bless both you and 
your beloved daughter. He will not leave you comfortless. . . . ." 

The following letter from the Secretary of New College 
may so far be deemed official, as to warrant its insertion, 
while yet the individual expression of sentiment which it 
contains is the more valuable as coming from one, who, in 
rendering his willing testimony, was not swayed by the 
partialities of intimate friendship : — 

New College, London, N. W., June 12, 1858. 

"Madam, — I have been desired by the Council of New College to 

convey to you the expression of their regret in hearing of the death 

of the late Rev. Dr. Henderson, and the assurance of their respectful 

sympathy with you under the bereavement which you have been 



472 CLOSING YEARS. 

called to sustain. I feel that I have not the right to intrude upon 
your grief with many words, especially since I had not the honour 
and the privilege of more than a slight personal acquaintance with 
Dr. Henderson. But the long, and various, and faithful service which 
he rendered to the church of Christ, is a thing which even comparative 
strangers to his person may be permitted to contemplate with affec- 
tionate veneration for his memory, and devout thankfulness for the 
good which he was enabled to accomplish. I trust that the satisfac- 
tion which you can hardly fail to derive from the recollection of his 
honourable and useful career, will be abundantly blended with those 
richer consolations which are the common property of all Christian 
mourners for Christian friends, departed i to be with Christ.' 

" I am, Madam, 

" Your's respectfully, 
(Signed) " William Farrer, (Sec.) 
" Mrs. Henderson." 

The British and Foreign Bible Society, who, in the year 
1854 had inserted his name on the list of Honorary Go- 
vernors for life, were not backward to draw up a Memorial 
on occasion of his death : — 

" The Committee have heard with deep regret of the decease of 
their much-respected friend, the Rev. Dr. E. Henderson, formerly 
one of the Foreign Agents of the Society ; and they cannot allow this 
intelligence to reach them without some brief record of their high 
appreciation of the personal excellencies and useful labours of one 
whose name is prominently associated with the early endeavours of 
the Society to promote the circulation of the Scriptures in Northern 
Europe. 

" Dr. Henderson, in company with his much-loved colleague, Dr. 
Paterson, left Scotland in the early part of the present century with 
the view of acting as a Missionary in the Danish settlement of India. 
Unexpected events having defeated this design, his attention was 
drawn to the reported dearth of Scriptures which prevailed in Ice- 
land, and the vast importance of some vigorous measures for the 
purpose of providing a supply to meet the wants of those who were 
destitute of and desired to possess the word of God. It was this 
circumstance which led in the providence of God to the commence- 
ment of a correspondence between Dr. Henderson and the British 
and Foreign Bible Society, and the Committee of that day promptly 
and liberally encouraged the efforts that were proposed for printing 



TESTIMONIES OF ESTEEM. 473 

the Scriptures in Icelandic, while Dr. Henderson undertook the re- 
sponsible and arduous labour of passing the editions through the press. 

" Having been brought into relation with plans bearing more im- 
mediately upon the circulation of the Scriptures, he continued, with 
Dr. Paterson, to make this the prominent object of his labours in the 
north of Europe. Subsequently he became one of the accredited 
Agents of the Society ; and for some years rendered a large amount 
of valuable service, helping to kindle an ardent zeal for the spread 
of Divine truth, and promoting in various ways the formation of 
Societies, based on the same principles and working for the same 
end as that which he represented. The visitation he undertook for 
these purposes was very extended, including not only Iceland, Den- 
mark, Sweden, but also many parts of the vast dominions of Russia. 
In the prosecution of his many labours he displayed a spirit of self- 
denial combined with a resolute perseverance and sound judgment. 
Possessed of no ordinary piety, and manifesting great singleness 
of purpose, he contributed in no small degree to awaken and sus- 
tain an interest in many lands for the dissemination of the sacred 
volume. 

" He continued to act as an agent of the Society till the year 1823, 
when circumstances induced him to resign a position which he had 
filled with much honour to himself and great advantage to the 
Society. 

" After his official connection with the Society was terminated, 
Dr, H.'s love to it was unabated ; he continued to watch over its 
operations with undiminished interest, and on many occasions gave 
important aid either by advocating publicly the claims of the 
Society, or affording his advice on delicate and difficult questions 
relating to the Editorial department. The Society was also placed 
under obligations to him for editing versions of the Danish and Turk- 
ish Scriptures, a duty for which he was well-qualified by his eminent 
scholarship and great acquirements. 

" The Committee in closing this necessarily short sketch of the ser- 
vices rendered to the Society by their deceased friend, desire to have 
in grateful remembrance the untiring zeal, purity of motive, and 
catholicity of spirit by which his labours for the British and Foreign 
Bible Society were uniformly distinguished." 

The Religious Tract Society Committee, on May £5th, 
passed the following resolution : — 

"That the Committee have heard with unfeigned regret of the 
death of their respected and beloved friend, the Rev. Dr. Henderson, 



474 CLOSING YEARS. 

an esteemed correspondent of the Society during his residence abroad, 
and one of its Honorary Secretaries during the last four-and-twenty 
years. Although the event cannot but prove a happy exchange 
for him who has entered upon his rest, they yet deplore his loss, and 
respectfully offer their sympathy to the bereaved widow and family, 
whom they commend to the care of their heavenly Father, trusting 
that in all their trials and sorrows they may enjoy the consolations 
of the Divine Comforter." 

The following tribute was voted by the Committee of 
the British Society for the Propagation of the Gospel 
among the Jews : — 

" In recording the removal from amongst them of one who has 
been associated with them from the beginning, the Committee can- 
not forbear from expressing the love and veneration in which they 
hold his memory, and their sense of the eminent services to the 
cause of Jewish Evangelization rendered by their departed friend and 
father. 

"His long acquaintance with foreign lands, his extensive know- 
ledge of history, and the wide regards of an expansive and catholic 
spirit, combining with uncommon devotion to the cause of a much- 
loved Redeemer, enlisted his whole nature in the Missionary enter- 
prise; but notwithstanding his readiness to prosecute it in the re- 
motest fields and on the widest basis, he never forgot that it had 
been the Master's command to ' begin at Jerusalem ;' whilst his rare 
familiarity with the Eastern languages, and his mighty acquaintance 
with the Hebrew Scriptures, carried him with a peculiar attraction 
towards God's ancient people. On the other hand, his benevolent 
bearing, his fairness in argument, his love of the nation, and his 
enthusiasm for its literature, secured the esteem and confidence of 
Jewish scholars and earnest enquirers. 

" Mainly through his zeal for the object and his influence amongst 
the Churches was this Association organized at the outset; and in 
obtaining for it public attention, in examining and selecting its 
earlier Agents, and in arranging that course of Lectures to which he 
himself so ably contributed, and which went so far to gain over the 
intelligent sympathy of the Christian community, the services which, 
he rendered were invaluable, and such as to entitle him to the lasting 
gratitude of all his fellow-labourers. 

" Himself ' an Israelite indeed, in whom was no guile,' his endear- 
ing goodness drew all hearts, and, in virtue of a noble constancy and 
truth of character, he retained to the last the attachments which he 



TESTIMONIES OF ESTEEM. 475 

so readily gained; and whilst they delight to recal those warm affec- 
tions which a sober judgment regulated without repressing, and that 
broad and abounding charity which an extensive knowledge of man- 
kind directed but did not abate, his colleagues would pray for them- 
selves that their own proceedings may be marked by the same love 
to the Saviour, and the same unwearying delight in that Saviour's 
service, which gave to his long and blameless career its unwonted 
unity. 

" And now that they tender their respectful and heartfelt sympathy 
to his bereaved Widow and Daughter, they rejoice on their behalf 
in the strong consolation which mingles with the present trial. To 
not many has it been vouchsafed, before falling on sleep, to serve 
their generation so well ; and seldom has there been gathered home 
to Life's Garner a shock of corn more fully ripe. Nor to Faith can 
the effort be great to accompany into the Better Country one who 
showed so plainly whilst amongst us that his Citizenship was in 
Heaven." 



The more private Christian fellowships to which he had 
belonged likewise sent their testimonies of esteem and 
remembrance ; but space forbids to add them. Enough 
have been cited ; and it is known, beyond the need of proof, 
that " the memory of the just is blessed." And he, " being- 
dead, yet speaketh." There are surviving friends in 
Northern Europe, who cherish his memory, who have 
heaved a sigh at the tidings of his removal, and who, it is 
hoped, will be quickened to carry on the work which he 
began. There are Christian labourers, at home and abroad, 
who will have been stimulated the more earnestly to follow 
him as he followed Christ, and to work while with them 
it is yet noon-day, remembering how near at hand are the 
evening-shades, and how surely the stillness of the grave 
must ere long set its seal on life's activities. The spot of 
ground, beneath which lie the remains of the departed, is 
situated about midway between Watts's statue and Watts's 
cedar, immediately behind the family-vault of Thomas 
Wilson, Esq., — surrounded by the graves of many other 



476 CLOSING YEARS. 

Christian friends, — and marked by a neat, yet handsome, 
monument of grey Aberdeen granite, a Memorial raised 
by a large and loving circle of faithful Christian ministers. 
It bears the inscription : — 

%a % Itemorg jtf 

EBENEZER HENDERSON, D.D. 

BORN AT DUNFERMLINE, 

NOV. 17, 1784. 

FOR MANY YEARS AGENT OF THE 

BRITISH AND FOREIGN 

BIBLE SOCIETY 

IN ICELAND, RUSSIA, ETC. 

FOR 24 TEARS THEOLOGICAL TUTOR 

IN HOXTON AND HIGHBURY COLLEGES. 

BELOVED AND HONOURED 

IN EVERY STATION, 

HE ENTERED INTO REST 

AT MORTLAKE, 

MAY 16, 1858. AGED 73 YEARS. 

IN GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE OF HIS 

CHARACTER, KINDNESS, AND SERVICES, 

THIS MONUMENT IS RAISED BY HIS 

STUDENTS. 
1859. 



LONDON : KNIGHT AND SON, PRINTERS, CLERKENWELL CLOSE. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



021 897 319 A 










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